BidQwest Aviation

A group of airline and corporate pilots has established BidQwest, an online
site where air-taxi operators can bid on charter flight requests. A spokesman
told AIN Alerts that BidQwest (www.bidqwest.com)
went online last month and now has nearly 70 air-taxi companies safety
qualified to bid. Safety audits are done continuously by Aviation Research
Group/U.S. of Cincinnati, including background checks of flight crews 24 hours
before departure, according to the spokesman. Operators can view the bids
of their competitors during the bidding process. Also, passengers can request
a safety audit of a specific operator. BidQwest said there is no charge for
passengers to request bids or for air taxis to make them, nor are passengers
required to keep a debit account from which fares would be drawn. Other than
payment by credit card, which carries a fee, BidQwest said checks for payments
are deposited in an escrow account to protect them from being lost if a flight
is canceled due to any reason, including BidQwest itself going out of business,
the company emphasized. A markup percentage of the final agreed-to fare goes
to BidQwest, but the company declined to disclose the details.