Private Jet Charter: A Consumer’s Guide to Flying Private

1. It seems like the marketplace has exploded with ads promoting access to luxury jet charters at prices described as ‘discounted’, or even ‘cheap’.

You can thank the growth of the general aviation industry for the change.  Up until recently, aircraft sales were rising year over year with $24.8 billion recorded in 2008, as reported by USA Today.  With the current industry turndown and decreased use of private aircraft by both corporate and wealthy individuals, there has come a flood of advertisement targeted to the Non-Jet set or simply put, the commercial-flying general public.

If you have ever wanted to fly private, and who hasn’t, now is the time to act as soft demand and oversupply of aircraft for charter are working in your favor.  But how do you make heads or tails of the internet search results? To make that task less daunting, here are a few things to know before you book your private jet charter flight:

1. Start your search from your desired airport of departure.

Search the internet with the words ‘private jet charter’ and the city from where you are departing e.g. Private Jet Charter Pittsburgh.  Otherwise, you may be paying for your jet to be repositioned (moved from one airport to another) to pick you up.

2. Go to the source:  operator vs. broker.

Chartering a private jet is not unlike booking commercial flights: you can either go through a brokering agent such as you would with a travel agent; or you can go to the source by contacting the operator which is akin to contacting the commercial airlines directly.

There are significant advantages to booking your private jet through an operator.  Primarily, operational control is a key factor. Operators either own and operate their aircraft or operate the aircraft owned by their clients on behalf of their clients.  They are strictly regulated by the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Association (FAA).  The operators oversee the maintenance, hiring of the aircrew (pilots) and provide training as per FAA requirements. The operators do all of the flight planning, weather monitoring and are ultimately responsible for your safety. They can answer any and all questions about your aircraft and your aircrew as well as provide many other services such as 24/7 concierge services, catering and airport transportation.

Secondly, by going direct to the source, you are not paying any commissions as you would to a broker, and you will almost always save significantly more $$.

3. Know your aircraft: one size does not fit all.

If you and your sweetie are going away on a romantic weekend getaway, you’ll probably only need a ‘turbo-prop’ (a turbine powered jet aircraft with propeller(s))or a ‘light jet’ seating no more than six passengers.  Whereas, if you are taking your extended family on a summer vacation and there are a total of 7+ passengers, now we are talking about a larger aircraft, perhaps a ‘mid’ (mid-size) jet will do the trick.  There is also a ‘super-mid’ and ‘heavy’ jet size, known for its size and luxurious interiors.  As the aircraft becomes larger, so do the costs to operate the aircraft, particularly fuel costs, pushing-up your hourly rates.

So, do yourself a favor and ask your operator for: the aircraft type (turbo-prop, jet), size (light, mid, heavy), the year the aircraft was manufactured (how old is it), the number of pilots (two, preferably), the number of passenger seats, the availability of an enclosed lavatory (yes, no), and the range of the aircraft (non-stop, or stop required for your trip).

Ask for a flight quote containing the hourly rate, overnight fees (crew need to sleep and eat), minimum daily usage (if not flying, waiting fees), landing fees and any other fee that may be charged so that you can make an informed decision.

OK, now you are ready to begin flying private.  Be careful, once you fly private, you’ll never want to fly commercial again!