When it comes to traveling for business or pleasure, you have many reasons why to charter an airplane. When you consider that there are over 14,000 airports in the US and then narrow it down to just 5,000 that are paved and narrow it down again to just 376 that have commercial airline service, you can see that the airlines can limit your options. So, right off the bat you have a great reason to look at charter as an option for your travel needs. With many other reasons to charter an airplane, let’s get down to how to choose a charter company and airplane.

First, lets discuss some of the things to consider when chartering an airplane. The length of the trip, the number of passengers, your schedule requirements, and accommodations once you arrive are keys to comparing charter vs. airline service. When it comes to airline service, how well do they meet your schedule and needs? Let’s say for example that you have a meeting planned for 10am Tuesday morning in Syracuse, NY. When are you going to have to leave in order to meet that appointment? If you ride the airlines, it’s going to be Monday, but if you do the trip on a charter airplane it can be Tuesday morning.

What does that mean to you? It means you and your employees get to spend Monday night with their families. It also means you don’t have the expenses of hotels, rental cars and meals that you would have if you took the airlines. Now, the meeting is over and you take your client to dinner, when are you going to be able to get back home? Again, if you took the airlines, it is going to be Wednesday before you leave. On the other hand, if you chartered an airplane, you can still get home Tuesday evening. Obviously, chartering and airplane does cost more than an airline but you need to calculate all the expenses incurred. With the airline, you had three days out of the office, two nights of hotel rooms, two/three days of rental cars, and meals for three days. On the charter flight, you had one day out of the office, no hotel rooms, one day car rental, and meals for one day.

Next, what size airplane should you consider for your trip? This is dependent on a number of variables, such as how far you are going, the number of passengers, the size of the airport you are going into and your budget for the trip. In the charter world, you have the option to take an airplane as small as a single engine and as large as an airliner. What plane you choose depends on the specific needs for that trip.

Say you and a business client of yours are going golfing for the day at the coast. In that case, the single engine airplane may be your best option since there is just two of you and golf clubs. If however, you are planning a longer trip with a larger number of passengers your best option may be a business jet. The charter company you contact will have a dispatcher that will be able to assist you in making an informed decision that will best meet your travel needs.
The main consideration in chartering is actually choosing a charter company. This is where many people get lost and decide to stay with the airline and it really isn’t that hard of a process. Here are some things you need to consider when choosing a company. Something that any reputable charter company will be able to provide to you is a due diligence package. It should include the following items:

  1. Copy of their Air Taxi Operators Certificate
  2. A001 of their Operations Specifications (lists the name of the business they are allowed to operate under)
  3. B050 of their Operations Specifications (lists all the places they are authorized to fly to)
  4. D085 of their Operations Specifications (lists the actual airplanes they are approved to operate)
  5. A copy of their insurance for each of the aircraft listed on D085 above.

Usually, not included in the package but you can ask for are the pilot qualifications the company requires and the dates of their last flight checks. Here are some other good questions to ask:

  1. Is this trip going to be in one of your aircraft or are you going to broker this trip?
    See, some companies don’t even have airplanes, they are just charter brokers
  2. How long have you been in business?
  3. Is your quoted price an all inclusive price? Is the price I see, the price I will be charged at the end?

See, a lot of charter companies will quote you an hourly rate without the Federal Taxes and associated fees and then you get the surprise when the final invoice comes in. The way to beat this is to make sure the company gives you a price that makes it clear this is the final price and then adds the extras that may be in addition to. These items are things that are outside the companies hand and include: airport fees (landing and ramp fees) , transportation needs that the company set up for you (limo service or rental car), and special catering you may have ordered. Other than that, the price should be as quoted including the federal taxes.

If I or any other member of our team can help you with this decision or if you have further questions, please do not hesitate to call us. We would love to be able to assist you with your next charter.