Ever wanted to charter a private jet? Everyone knows that the super-rich has their own private jets and fly them around the world in luxury James Bond style. But not all of the private jets are owned by the rich - some are chartered. Not all the chartered flights are exclusively privately chartered either, some are shared chartered.
Some would like to fly in peace and not have to sit next to overly chatty strangers, strangers who snore deafeningly loud, and strangers that may be carrying the next pandemic. What are the options for chartering a private flight? It turns out there are many options if one can afford them.
Private Charter: How It Works
For wealthier people (one does not need to be super rich), this may actually be easier than one would think. While expensive, it is no longer the exclusive privilege that it once was.
Chartering a private flight is still going to be more expensive than flying first class or business class, but there are many folks out there that would see the upgrade as worth it. At least there's no risk of missing one's flight. Flying long-haul it will be difficult to beat Emirates First or Business Class - complete with a bed, a bar, and a shower.
There are several private charter companies offering their services (like BLADE, XO, and JSX). One can just browse through the options that they have and then submit their details. A booking agent will get back with a quote.
- Private Charter Companies: BLADE, XO, JSX
Sometimes if the charter company has another flight already going to that destination, one can just book a seat on that aircraft (so long as the passengers are happy to fly with strangers - this can significantly lower the private of exclusively booking a private jet).
Avinode is "The world's leading air charter sourcing platform." They are a time-saving option for passengers looking to see available planes for the one's route and travel times. They say they "revolutionized the industry by bringing it online. It is now the go-to platform to buy and sell charter online." They claim to process a massive 4.5 million trip searches and 6 million trip requests annually.
- Safety: While Still Safe, Often The Stringent Safety Regulations Of Regular Commerical Airlines Are Unbeatable
How Costs Of Chartering A Private Flight Work
According to CNN: A No-frills private flight can cost as little as $100 for a one-hour hop-on business commuter jet. But if one wants a few more frills and charter a flight across the States, it's lively to reach as high as $40,000. A shared charter is likely to cost a ballpark $5,000 while exclusive private hire is around $35,000.
The chief determining cost-driving for a private charter is the size of the aircraft and the number of hours the craft's in use. Booking exclusive use of the aircraft and flying only one way is going to be more expensive than return (per hour flown). To use as a benchmark one can use Air Charter Service's cost guide with their hourly rental estimates for hiring an airplane in the United States.
One option is to charter the aircraft by oneself but make it a sharable charter. In this way, one can sell the empty seats on the craft and so share the cost of the flight. Of course, this does involve flying with strangers, but at least there are fewer of them, and the whole experience can be more luxurious.
Hourly Cost Estimates For Private Charter
- Light jet: $4,000 to $5,500 (4 to 6 passengers)
- Medium jet: $5,500 to $9,500 (6 to 9 passengers)
- Heavy jet: $11,000 to $20,000 (16 to 19 passengers)
Here are some price estimates from Air Charter Service.
LA To Washington
- Duration: 5.5 Hours
- Passengers: Six Passengers On Board
- Aircraft: Bombardier Learjet 40/40XR (A Sleek, Mid-Sized jet)
- Cost: Around $24,500
- Per Hour: Around $4,450
LA To Washington (Same Route As Above)
- Duration: 5.5 Hours
- Passengers: Nine Passengers On Board
- Aircraft: Hawker Beechcraft 900XP (Makes For an Elegant And Smooth Ride)
- Cost: Around $30,000
- Per Hour: Around $5,500
Alternatively, a flight from Atlanta, Georgia to San Francisco is around five hours and costs around $29,200. That's about $5,800 in a Dassault Falcon 20 private jet.
For those who would like to play around with the figures and see the various coasts of private charters, XO allows customers to easily browse the options. One can browse both shared and one-way charters.
They also list a load of deals - some of these are deals for a whole jet for a special route and date. Perhaps they are "cheap" (sic) because someone only booked them one way and the aircraft needs to return.
While most of these are on short routes, look at these pics of traveling luxury with Emirates and there's no way a private charter can compete.