Jet Charter
A jet charter is the business of renting a jet aircraft for luxury, business or corporate and/or urgent or time-sensitive freight, cargo and/or medical itineraries. Jet charters are also known as air taxis, executive charters, jet charters and are an integral part of general and business aviation. In the United States all jet charter companies and operators are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations and often have their own security measures for enhanced security and safety.
In a jet charter the charterer charters the aircraft for a particular trip or for a set period of time. In these charters the charterer can direct where the aircraft will go but the owner and operator of the aircraft retains possession of the aircraft through its employment of the pilots and crew.
The birth of jet charters was spurred by the surplus of available aircraft post World War II which led to the growth of corporate aviation and related air taxi and air charter services. Booming jet charter companies soon began chartering flights for corporations, executives, individual private travelers, medical flights, sports teams, and entertainers, etc on jet aircraft as opposed to smaller prop or turbo-prop aircraft.
Jet charters have become increasingly common since the mid-1990s and in particular since the early 2000s. There has been increasing demand for jet charter vacations and many experienced and semi-experienced travelers consider it easier and cheaper to hire a jet, rather than own their own aircraft. The end of the 1990s saw jet charters becoming increasingly popular due to use of the internet. Due to the fact that jet charter companies were never a part of the major GDS or travel distribution systems, it could not reach wider audiences. With the introduction of internet communication, the distribution of information regarding the availability of aircraft, placement, and pricing became readily available to both brokers and potential customers around the world.
Nowadays there are also hundreds of aircraft charter brokers or agent companies. These companies offer jet finding and travel organization services similar to travel agents but more specialized. They use their experience and networks to locate a client's ideal aircraft in terms of price and location and normally charge a small percentage of the charter price for their services.
