Santa Monica, Calif.-based Virgin Charter announced last week that its online marketplace was open for business. The marketplace, in partnership with Travelocity Business, offers direct booking for private, charter air travel from a variety of operators.The launch marks the conclusion of the closed beta period during which an exclusive group of corporate and individual buyers utilized the marketplace. Virgin Charter's marketplace is free to join and offers clients immediate access to its technology.Operators on Virgin charter are audited for safety standards by third parties and the company has worked with JD Power & Associates to create the industry's first Quality Ratings Program. Virgin Charter also offers 24/7 customer service and the Web site has a section for "hot deals.""Until now, booking on-demand charter has been a cumbersome process and flyers didn't always know what they were getting," said Scott Duffy, CEO, Virgin Charter. "We are bringing the power of Virgin to the industry and are now offering an entirely new way to book charter over the Internet while setting new quality standards."