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Air charter is the business of renting an entireaircraft (i.e.,chartering) as opposed to individualaircraft seats (i.e., purchasing aticket through a traditionalairline).
Charter – also calledair taxi or ad hoc – flights require certification from the associated country'scivil aviation authority. The regulations are differentiated from typical commercial/passenger service by offering a non-scheduled service.
Analogous regulations generally also apply toair ambulance and cargo operators, which are often also ad hoc for-hire services.
In the United States, these flights are regulated under FAA Part 135.[1]There are some cases where a charter operator can sell scheduled flights, but only in limited quantities.[2] As of 2021, the FAA had made it a priority to crack down on unauthorised charter flights, according to industry experts.[3]
There are several business models which offer air charter services from the traditional charter operator to brokers and jet card programs:
Charter aircraft categories include:
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.[4]
Some charter airlines have employed other types of jets, includingAirbus,Boeing, andMcDonnell Douglas mainline airliners such as theDouglas DC-10 andBoeing 747.Arrow Air of the United States was such an airline. Among other aircraft, it employed a fleet of 6 DC-10 aircraft from 1983.[5][6]
if they are going to fly others for a fee they require a Part 135 certificate, Williams said. "It's pretty serious" in terms of potential civil penalties for both the company that owns the aircraft and the pilot, Williams said. The FAA has made cracking down on unauthorized charter flights a priority
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