Glossary of Aviation Terms | Scheduled Air Transportation

Scheduled Air Transportation | Paramount Business Jets

Scheduled air transportation is the regular transportation of people, property, or cargo by an airline company. The airline company schedules regular flights in and out of an airport, which is usually a busy commercial airport. Scheduled air transportation is accomplished by the scheduling of flights at regular times and days of the year on a consistent basis. The airline responsible for the transportation often has a commercial or operational license and is governed by rules in the Federal Aviation Regulations manual (FAR) and is subject to the capacity allowed by the airport in question.

According to the FAR, air transportation is defined as "interstate, over-seas, or foreign air transportation or the transportation of mail by aircraft." (FAR 1.1) In the early 1900s, the primary means of delivering the mail was accomplished by scheduling air transportation with private and then commercial airline companies. Later in the 1900s, the commercialization of the airline industry and the development of faster, larger, better airplanes led to the transportation of not only mail and cargo but passengers as well. As a result, larger airports and the scheduling of flights into and out of them became necessary. Today, we know scheduled air transportation most commonly as the consistent availability of flights from a particular airline at a particular airport.

In the charter jet world, scheduled air transportation is on an as-needed basis. When a customer wants to fly somewhere in a charter jet, they can choose the days and times they want to fly. If they want a return flight or not, and what kind of plane they would like to fly in. When scheduled air transportation occurs, all the flight destinations, times, and dates are predetermined, allowing the customer to select which combination they like the best. This gives the chart jet businesses a competitive edge against the airlines.