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Chartering a private jet offers advantages over commercial airlines, such as smaller planes that can fly from smaller airports closer to the destination. However, cost is a major drawback. Air charter services have become more popular, and many charter companies are managers of privately owned aircraft, creating price and service competition. The introduction of the Lear Jet in the 1960s made air charter service a viable option.
Almost everyone has suffered through the horror show that is euphemistically described as a plane ride. Purchasing an airline ticket is simply purchasing a seat on a scheduled flight from a large airport, miles from your home or business, to another large airport, even further from the actual destination. For this reason among many others, many flyers, especially business flyers, prefer to charter a private jet.
The charter for an entire aircraft, plus crew, during the time the aircraft is in the air from point A to point B, is known as an air charter. Obviously, there are several advantages to renting a plane. Most charter planes are smaller than commercial jets, allowing you to travel from smaller airports closer to home and can land closer to your actual destination.
Recently, the air charter option has been converted to an air taxi service. This essentially involves calling an aircraft to pick up passengers or cargo at the local municipal airport and deliver the passengers or cargo to another municipal airport. Since one will take a taxi in the city, it is now possible to take a private plane to the other side of the country.
A major drawback to hiring an air charter is, of course, the cost. Depending on the duration of the flight, the price of fuel, the size and type of aircraft chartered, and the number of crew, the expenses can be significant. This expense also factors in air shipping arrangements.
This is where commercial airlines have a distinct advantage over charter airlines. It costs a typical air carrier, or passenger, much less to buy a few square feet of cargo space, or a seat, than it does to rent a private plane. However, if there are enough passengers available to split the cost of, say, an eight-seat charter plane to fourteen seats, the cost per passenger is, in many cases, manageable. This same formula is also valid for air cargo.
Many charter companies are actually managers of privately owned aircraft. These management companies lease these private planes to offset the costs of ownership. This management/ownership option is advantageous for those looking to charter a private jet, as it creates price and service competition.
Air charter service became a viable option with the introduction of the Lear Jet in the 1960s. Targeted for private owners, these small jets were relatively inexpensive to maintain and capable of operating out of smaller airports. Suddenly, a whole new look for air travel was introduced. Air ambulances, air cargo services, and passenger charter services are now an integral factor in the commercial airline industry.
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