Air charter is the business of renting an entire

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

(i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a to ...

through a traditional

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

Regulation

Charter – also called

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. History The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermor ...

or ad hoc – flights require certification from the associated country's civil aviation authority. The regulations are differentiated from typical commercial/passenger service by offering a non-scheduled service. Analogous regulations generally also apply to

air ambulance Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation an ...

and cargo operators, which are often also ad hoc for-hire services.

United States

In the United States, these flights are regulated under FAA Part 135. There are some cases where a charter operator can sell scheduled flights, but only in limited quantities. As of 2021, the FAA had made it a priority to crack down on unauthorised charter flights, according to industry experts.

Types of service

There are several business models which offer air charter services from the traditional charter operator to brokers and jet card programs: * Charter operators – certified by their associated government body, such as the FAA for US carriers, have legal authority to advertise and conduct flights for hire. * Air charter broker – Charter brokers arrange flights on behalf of their clients, acting as "authorized agents". *

Jet card A jet card is a private aviation product that enables holders to use different aircraft at agreed-upon fixed hourly rates. Jet cards are offered by large and small fleet operators and charter brokers. There are as many as 65 variables between jet ...

– Programs offered by both brokers and operators where a customer is offered a fixed hourly rate for a specific jet category and the broker or operator sources a jet from the available charter fleet. *

Online marketplace An online marketplace (or online e-commerce marketplace) is a type of e-commerce website where product or service information is provided by multiple third parties. Online marketplaces are the primary type of multichannel ecommerce and can be a wa ...

– Online booking platform where the client can choose and book the desired aircraft directly with the operator.

Aircraft categories

Charter aircraft categories include: * Seaplanes – examples: DHC-2 Beaver, DHC-3 Otter * Turbo props – examples:

Pilatus PC-12 The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in addi ...

King Air 350 The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996. ...

, Piaggio P-180 Avanti * Light jets – examples: Phenom 300, Citation CJ3 * Mid-cabin jets – examples: Learjet 60, Hawker 800XP * Super mid-cabin jets – examples: Citation X,

Challenger 300 The Bombardier Challenger 300 is a range super mid-sized business jet designed and produced by the Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace. Development of the aircraft, originally called the Bombardier Continental, begun during th ...

* Large jets – examples:

Bombardier Challenger 605 The Bombardier Challenger 600 series is a family of business jets developed by Canadair after a Bill Lear concept, and then produced from 1986 by its new owner, Bombardier Aerospace. At the end of 1975, Canadair began funding the development ...

Falcon 900 The Dassault Falcon 900, commonly abbreviated as the F900, is a French-built corporate trijet aircraft made by Dassault Aviation. Development The Falcon 900 is a development of the Dassault Falcon 50, Falcon 50, itself a development of the e ...

* Ultra long-range jets – examples:

Gulfstream V The Gulfstream V (Model GV, pronounced "G-five") is a large, long-range business jet aircraft produced by Gulfstream Aerospace, derived from the previous Gulfstream IV. It flies up to , up to and has a range. It typically accommodates four c ...

Gulfstream G650 The Gulfstream G650, G700, and G800 are large Business jet, business jets produced by the American company Gulfstream Aerospace.Dassault Falcon 7X The Dassault Falcon 7X is a large-cabin, range business jet manufactured by Dassault Aviation. Unveiled at the 2001 Paris Air Show, its first flight took place on 5 May 2005 and it entered service on 15 June 2007. The Falcon 8X, first delivered ...

* VIP airliners – examples:

Boeing Business Jet A Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) is a version of a Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Boeing jet airliner with modifications to serve the private, head of state, and corporate jet market. The first BBJ, based on the 737-700, rolled out on July 26, 1998; a ...

, Airbus Corporate Jets There are an estimated 15,000 business jets available for charter in the world. The US market is the largest, followed by the European market with growing activity in the Middle East, Asia, and Central America. Some charter airlines have employed other types of jets, including

Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

, and

McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas Corporation was a major American Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own ...

mainline airliners such as the Douglas DC-10 and

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

Arrow Air Arrow Air was a passenger and cargo airline based in Building 712 on the grounds of Miami International Airport (MIA) in Miami-Dade County, Florida. At different times over the years, it operated over 90 weekly scheduled cargo flights, had a s ...

of the United States was such an airline. Among other aircraft, it employed a fleet of 6 DC-10 aircraft from 1983.

References

External links