While scheduled flights can be convenient for interstate or cross-country travel, the long airport lines and cramped plane seats. Instead of cutting out the convenience of air travel, consider the benefits of a private jet charter.

With a charter flight, you can receive personal and professional air services for yourself or your entourage without fighting airport crowds or dealing with common flight setbacks. If your comfort is worth the charter flight cost, scheduling your flight becomes much easier. Here are factors to consider before booking an air charter service.

Top Charter Flight Cost Factors

Unlike the scheduled flights most people use, charter flights take off using an on-demand system. They also include additional charter flight regulations, services, and flight amenities you don’t receive from business or first class on commercial airlines. For example, you get more airport choices, higher standards of privacy, and less risk of canceled flights.

As such, charter flight cost factors differ from other air services. Each factor can cause a price difference of hundreds to thousands of dollars, but the difference top-quality transportation services make can take travel from a hassle to a luxury experience.

#1. Aircraft Class

Aircraft come in categories, classes, and types. Examples of aircraft categories include airplanes, rotorcraft, and weight-shift-control aircraft. Classes further differentiate the different forms and weights within each category.

Staying within the airplane category, you have commercial planes, lightweight jets, ultra-long-range jets, and more. Private jet charter costs generally increase the larger your aircraft. For example, the hourly rate can range by several thousand dollars if you charter a small, four-person private plane or a larger airplane.

After all, the difference in size means the pilot must take different measures for taxi, flight, and landing procedures. As such, they require higher pay rates for their unique services.

#2. Type of Aircraft

Each aircraft class has different types and brands with all sorts of capabilities. For example, the Cessna Citation X+ can hold more people than the Cessna Citation X despite being from the same company. You also receive different onboard amenities and accommodations with a midsize jet than a very small one.

Additionally, the jet’s popularity and demand on the market can increase its price. Larger planes with more amenities can increase the cost to charter a flight by hundreds of dollars per hour.

#3. Aircraft Age

Popularity can increase the charter flight’s price by the type of aircraft, and it can do the same based on the aircraft’s age. Newer jets typically demand more attention on the market because of their abilities, amenities, and market familiarity. A newer jet may also have more safety protections and technology than older ones.

For those reasons, it costs more for air charter service providers to hire and acquire these planes. Older planes may cost hundreds, while newer aircraft can go into a few thousand per hour.

#4. Billable Flight Time

The billable flight time is a major determiner of the charter flight cost. It determines how much the charter service multiplies the three factors above.

Flight time is more than the time in the air since it also accounts for flight repositioning fees and industry minimums. For example, even if the actual flight time was less than an hour, the industry standard is two hours per day. This policy ensures the flight staff can receive proper payment, even for short flights.

No matter how long the flight is, at minimum, multiply all numbers above by two. For longer flights, multiply them by the actual flight time.

#5. Common Additional Fees

You can expect to also pay fees depending on several other factors, such as:

• Landing fees from the airport
• Government segment fees per passenger
• Ramp and handling fees from the fixed-base operator
• The U.S. charges a Federal Excise Tax on every domestic flight leg in the country

Other factors can increase the cost of your flight. For example, an overnight flight would likely require crew overnight fees, and international flights mean you pay international taxes. Hangar storage, fuel surcharges, and any additional services you request, like transfers, all require payment.

Charter Your Next Flight with Vitesse

Vitesse doesn’t overcomplicate the charter process with hidden fees and difficult calculations. In addition to our top-quality customer service, you receive an accurate and detailed quote of your charter flight cost. Our team works around the clock to ensure your transportation goes smoothly. Learn more about the benefits of private jet charters.

For efficient services and clear prices, call Vitesse at (203) 327-9447 or email [email protected] today.