Air charteris the business of renting an entireaircraft(i.e.,chartering) as opposed to individualaircraft seats(i.e., purchasing aticketthrough a traditionalairline).

Boeing 737-300of the UK charter airlineTitan Airways

Regulation

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Charter – also calledair taxior 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 ambulanceand cargo operators, which are often also ad hoc for-hire services.

United States

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In the United States, these flights are regulated underFAAPart 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]

Types of service

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There are several business models which offer air charter services from the traditional charter operator to brokers and jet card programs:

  • Charter operators – certified by their associated government body such as theFAAfor US carriers have legal authority to advertise and conduct flights for hire.
  • Air charter broker – Charter brokers arrange flights on behalf of their clients, acting as "authorized agents".
  • Jet card– Programs offered by both brokers and operators where a customer is offered a fixed hourly rate for a specific jet category and the broker or operator sources a jet from the available charter fleet.
  • Online marketplace– Online booking platform where the client can choose and book the desired aircraft directly with the operator.

Aircraft categories

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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 Douglasmainline airliners such as theDouglas DC-10andBoeing 747.Arrow Airof the United States was such an airline. Among other aircraft, it employed a fleet of 6 DC-10 aircraft from 1983.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"FAA Part 135".FAA.Retrieved10 August2018.
  2. ^"NBA A Guide to Selling Charter by the Seat"(PDF).National Business Aviation Association. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 10 August 2018.Retrieved10 August2018.
  3. ^Paul Egan (17 May 2021)."FAA: Company that flew Whitmer to Florida not authorized to operate charter flights".Detroit Free Press.Retrieved19 May2021.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
  4. ^Asp, Maria (20 April 2015)."Private Jet Charter and Sales 2014".Sand Aviation Publishing. Archived fromthe originalon 7 June 2017.Retrieved5 May2015.
  5. ^"ARROW AIR FLEET DETAILS".airfleets.net.
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