How to choose an aircraft charter service operator

Charter providers have special authority from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation to operate charter flights. They receive continual oversight from the FAA and many choose to participate in third party auditing of their operations. A large majority of charter operators are well-run organizations that place safety and customer service first. The charter industry’s safety record is comparable to that of the fractional operators as well as private corporate aviation (those individuals or businesses that own their own aircraft).

Here are some questions you should ask your charter provider

What is the experience level of your pilots and how often do they train?

The most important component of the safety rung during your flight is your pilots. I cannot stress enough the importance of having the most experienced pilots possible fly your charter.

The FAA requires that the pilots for your flight have between 1200 and 1500 hours of flight experience. Fractional operators such as Netjets require 2500 hours of flight experience from their pilots. The higher-end charter operators that are safety-minded recruit pilots that far exceed these minimum requirements. Some charter operators might hire an experienced captain, but place a low time pilot in the right seat. What if the captain became incapacitated during the flight and the low-time copilot had to take over? What if the pilots experienced an emergency they were not both prepared to deal with?

We recommend you insist that both pilots on your charter flight are captain qualified and have at least 5000 hours of experience each. The charter operators most concerned with safety have instituted this higher standard for their pilots. Additionally, top notch operators send their pilots to simulator-based emergency training, as provided by FlightSafety and Simuflite, twice per year.

Do you operate your own aircraft under your own FAA Part 135 certificate, or are you only a broker?

Charter operators have special authority from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation to operate charter flights. Beware of companies whose websites have a disclaimer at the bottom of their website stating they do not have a part 135 certificate, or that they not operate the aircraft themselves. These are typically brokers, not charter operators. This is usually someone who arranges your charter for you for the fee of a commission added to the cost of your charter. While there are some very good brokers in the market place who can help you select the right aircraft for your needs, unfortunately there are more bad brokers than good ones these days. If you decide to utilize the services of a broker, make sure they do the appropriate groundwork for you - after all, you are paying them a commission for this service. They should be delving deeply into the safety record of the charter operator and choosing the right aircraft for your mission.

Additionally, you should research your broker as thoroughly as would research your charter operator. While charter operators have the oversight of the FAA and DOT, there is no licensing or oversight of brokers by any government or industry organization.

What aircraft do you have in your fleet?

This is an important question, as not every operator has the right aircraft for your needs. It’s best to find an operator that has a variety of aircraft to suit your typical mission. For example, if you need a short flight to Santa Monica on Monday, a turboprop might fit the bill, while your charter to Chicago on Wednesday would be better suited in a jet.

What is your safety record?

The safety record of the operator you choose is extremely important. An operator who has been accredited by an independent third party places high importance on safety, and has met a higher operational and safety standard than that regulated by the FAA. You can determine the safety record of the operator in several ways;

1) Call the Federal Aviation Administration and ask if the operator has ever had any accidents or incidents. Our local FAA office here in the desert region is the Flight Standards District Office in Riverside. They can be reached at (951) 276-6701. Ask to speak with a Principal Operators Inspector (POI).

2) Get a third party report from Wyvern, the industry leader in charter operator safety reports.

3) Ask the operator what their safety rating is, and if they have had a third party audit of their operations. The main industry auditors are ARG/US, Wyvern, IS-BAO and the Air Charter Safety Foundation. A successful completion of an audit by any one of these organizations is critical to ensure the highest in safety for your flight. Most operators are very proud of their safety rating status and would be happy to provide you with documentation showing their status.

Do you charge extra fees such as fuel surcharges, repositioning fees, wait time, and daily minimums?

When comparing hourly costs between your various private aircraft travel options, be sure to ask if there are additional fees that will be added to the hourly rate for the aircraft. Some of the common and reasonable extra fees are overnight fees (for the crew’s hotels and other expenses if you’ll be keeping the aircraft away from its home base overnight), ramp and landing fees, and Federal Excise Tax (FET) and segment fees, which are passed directly through the charter operator to the IRS.

Some fees, however, are little more than a way for a service provider to make a larger profit. Fuel surcharges are one example of an unnecessary fee that can inflate the hourly cost of your charter. For example, Sentient, a membership card provider, charges an additional $495 per hour for fuel surcharges for a light jet. For a jet that costs $2000 per hour, that is a 25% increase on your charter invoice.

Other costs that might make your charter seem more expensive than necessary are repositioning costs. These expenses are incurred when you charter an aircraft that is not based in your local area. In most cases you are paying for the aircraft to fly from its home base to your location. It is almost always better to charter an aircraft that is based at your local airport to avoid these repositioning fees.

Some operators charge a wait time fee that accrues as the aircraft and crew wait for you away from its home base. Others charge a daily minimum for the use of the aircraft on days the aircraft does not fly when it is away from home base.

The best operators are the ones that will give you a fully inclusive quote before your trip. These operators strive for fully transparent pricing and deserve your long term business.

How much insurance coverage do you have on your aircraft?

Some operators try to keep their expenses down in areas they shouldn’t. Maintenance, staff, training and insurance are just a few areas that deserve the best when it comes to operating a multi-million dollar aircraft.

A quality operator will have 25 million dollars in liability coverage on turboprop aircraft, and 50 million dollars in liability for light jets. Expect better coverage in mid and heavy sized aircraft. These are industry averages and you should question using operators that offer lower limits than those shown here.

You or your broker should request these documents as verification:

1) Are you a certified 135 Air Carrier? (Request copy of Air Carrier Certificate)

2) Is the aircraft I am booking part 135 approved? (Request copy of FAA Operations Specification D085)

3) Do you have current DOT approval? (Request copy of DOT certificate OST-4507)

4) What is your insurance coverage for that aircraft? (Request certificate of Insurance)

5) Have the pilots received simulator training over the last 12 months? (Flight Safety, Simuflite, or Simcom)

6) Are you IS-BAO certified, ARG/US rated, or Wyvern recommended? (Date of last update or audit)

7) Have you had any accidents/incidents/violations? (Request full explanation, if any)

Your broker should provide the following information to you:

1) Name and Certificate Number of the Charter company to be used for your trip

2) An agreement between you and your broker stating that the broker is acting on your behalf to secure your charter flight(s)

3) Standards used to secure reliable charter companies and disqualify others

4) Upon request, your broker should be able to provide information listed in items 1 through 7 above

Insurance Guidelines:

1) Rule of thumb for adequate liability insurance is 5 million per passenger seat or a minimum of 50 million

2) There should be no deductibles set for the policy