TailBroker + Avinode: how a broker’s sourcing and system of record fit together

Short answer: they are complements. Avinode is where many brokers search supply — which aircraft are available for this trip, at what indicative price. TailBroker is where the resulting deal lives — the client, the competing operator quotes, your margin, the contract, the invoice, the flight file. One is a marketplace; the other is your system of record.

What a marketplace does — and deliberately doesn't

Avinode solves real-time availability across thousands of aircraft, and charter sourcing would be poorer without it. But a marketplace is shared ground: your clients, your pricing strategy, your paperwork and your history are not its job, and storing the life of your brokerage in a shared marketplace was never its promise.

The gap brokers actually feel

Between "I found three good options" and "the client signed, the flight flew, the file made €8,400" lies everything a brokerage is judged on: a quote PDF the client is proud to receive, a contract with your cancellation schedule, an invoice in the client's language and currency, passport numbers on the brief, and a margin that survives audit. That middle is TailBroker: requests holding multiple operator options side by side, one-click branded documents in 12 languages and 10 currencies, contract-to-flight continuity, and per-file accounting.

The working loop

1. Qualify the client and log the request in TailBroker (client history and preferences are already there).
2. Source availability wherever you source today — Avinode, direct operator contacts, or TailBroker's built-in directory of 2,900+ operators when you need a company, a fleet or an FBO fast.
3. Bring the shortlist back as operator quotes on the request — each with its operator price, your margin, the client price.
4. Close and execute: quote PDF, contract, invoice, flight brief, accounting — without leaving the file.

To be explicit, because honesty beats hype: there is no TailBroker–Avinode integration today. The loop above is a copy-in workflow, and it takes a broker minutes per deal. If a direct integration matters to your desk, tell us — the API exists and demand shapes the roadmap.

Bottom line

Keep your sourcing channels; they are good at what they do. The question this page answers is different: when the enquiry lands and the clock starts, where does your deal live? If today the answer is "a spreadsheet and my inbox", that is the gap. Try TailBroker free for 14 days — no card, and your sourcing habits stay exactly as they are.