Airplane

Air charter is a common flight choice for those with big bucks.

Or those willing to spend big bucks.

Either way, it’s going to cost you.

Ever wonder what it is like to charter a jet?

Take a look at this video.

With airline travel you pay for one seat. With air charter you pay for an entire airplane. You get your own Gulfstream or Learjet. So bring a friend or two.

The industry began as corporate air charter. Private air charter now is used by many others. Individuals, business executives, sports teams and entertainers do it. Aircraft charter also is used for cargo, freight, air ambulance and organ donation.

This flying is known by other names, such as air taxi, jet charter and executive charter. It’s all the same thing.

If you ever wanted to buy an airplane, but found that airplanes for sale are a bit pricey, this may be for you.

There are a few ways. The old fashioned way is on demand charter. That is a trip by trip, pay as you go system. As the charterer, you reserve a plane to take you from one airfield to another.

You pay either before or after the flight. Air charter rates vary, so it pays to shop. You can book your flight through a local operator or a national air charter broker.

Jet cards are an option. They are flight debit cards. You put down a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Then you get to use a certain type of airplane for a set number of flight hours. If you don’t use your hours by a certain time, they expire or you get a refund.

Fractional ownership programs also are popular. You own an interest in an aircraft or a type of aircraft, along with other people. The aircraft are owned by air charter companies. The companies maintain the airplanes and provide the pilots, flight crews and catering.

You buy an exact share, usually from 1/16 to 1/2. That gets you usage for a set number of flight hours. The minimum usually is 50 per year. You also will pay for each flight hour, along with fuel and flight fees.

Jet charter planes come in a variety of sizes. The larger planes are known as heavy jets. There also are medium jets and light jets. The smallest jet is a very light jet or VLJ.

If jets are out of your price range, you can become a fractional owner of a single-engine piston airplane. For a shorter trip a helicopter charter might be right.

Air charter service has grown rapidly with the spread of the Internet. Information about the location and availability of aircraft is accessible nationally. Instead of having a few yellow pages choices, you can go online or have an air charter broker find a flight.

Airport delays and commercial aviation security procedures also have helped the air charter business.

Many air charter operators belong to the Air Taxi Association, known as ATXI. It was started in 2007.