December 21, 2024
It’s not even summer, yet. But it will soon be winter, and if that means winter weather. And that means your private jet may need deicing. Deicing can cost from under $1,000 to as much as $10,000 per incidence. The cost varies by the size of your airplane and airport rules, plus what type of fluid and how much is being used.
If you have been flying with a program that includes deicing or are new to jet cards, you may not realize some jet cards bill deicing as an additional charge.
In our QUICK COMPARE FLIGHT PRICING, we add a plug for deicing (Column AG), so you can compare all-in flight costs between programs that include deicing and ones that charge additional. For example, we add a plug from $1,500 per incidence (turboprops, very light and light jets) to $9,000 for large-cabin aircraft to the flight cost for programs that don’t include deicing (see table below).
| Cabin Size | Typical Fee |
| Turboprop | $1,500 |
| Very Light | $1,500 |
| Light | $1,500 |
| Midsize | $3,500 |
| Super Midsize | $5,000 |
| Large | $7,500 |
| Ultra Long Haul | $9,000 |
Let’s assume you make six winter weather trips where you are likely to have adverse weather on both ends. That would be 12 opportunities for a deicing bill during the course of your winter flying.
If you needed deicing half the time (six deicing bills) on a midsize jet, you are looking at $21,000 in deicing bills (6 x $3,500). For a super-midsize jet, you may see an extra $30,000 (6 x $5,000) in expenses.
The back of the envelope math then becomes dividing how much you might pay for deicing over the number of hours you expect to fly. Dividing $21,000 in deicing bills over 25 hours adds $840 per hour to the published rate. If you fly 50 hours, amortizing deicing equates to adding $420 per hour to your contracted rate.
So what’s the bottom line? Deicing expense becomes more of an issue if you are flying larger aircraft. But even more, if you consider a program that doesn’t include deicing, ask your provider to pull deicing bills from the airports you will be using. That way, you will be going in with your eyes wide open.
These providers include deicing in some or all of the programs. Unless noted, all providers off fixed hourly rates with guaranteed availability.
This publicly-traded broker offers jet cards beginning at just 10 hours. All its jet cards include deicing. It offers a category jet card program – light, midsize, super-midsize, and large-cabin aircraft. Daily minimums start at 90 minutes.
This family-operated boutique broker offers jet cards beginning at just 25 hours. All jet cards include deicing. It offers a category jet card program – turboprop, light, midsize, super-midsize, and large-cabin aircraft. Daily minimums start at 90 minutes for light jets and 60 minutes for turboprops.
This second largest fractional share operator (part of Directional Aviation, which includes Sentient and FXAIR) offers jet cards on its Phenom 300 and Challenger 300 fleets. All jet cards include deicing. Daily minimums are 60 minutes for all jet cards.
This top 10 Part 135 operator offers jet cards starting at $150,000. All its jet cards include deicing. It offers a category jet card program – light, midsize, and super-midsize. A large cabin program is expected soon. Daily minimums start at 90 minutes.
Part of Directional Aviation’s OneSky Flight Group, FXAIR includes deicing for members of its Aviation program ($100,000 deposit) when using the Flexjet fleet.
Based at Denver’s Centennial Airport, International Jet includes deicing on its fleet. Its jet card is as-available.
This Wyvern and Argus certified broker offers jet cards beginning at 20 hours. It added deicing to all its jet cards earlier this year. It offers a category jet card program – light, midsize, super-midsize, and large-cabin aircraft. Daily minimums start at 90 minutes.
This boutique broker offers jet cards beginning at 12.5 hours. Deicing is included in all of its jet cards. It offers a category jet card program – light, midsize, super-midsize, and large-cabin aircraft. Daily minimums start at 105 minutes.
This midsize broker offers jet cards beginning at 25 hours and a pay-as-you-go membership. Deicing insurance is optional for its jet cards and membership options. In QUICK COMPARE FLIGHT PRICING, we include all Magellan Jets options with and without deicing insurance. Its jet card program offers a regional Phenom 300 program, plus the Citation CJ3/4, Citation Excel/XLS, Hawker 800/850XP, Citation X, Challenger 300/350, Gulfstream 200/280, Challenger 604/605/650, and Gulfstream G450/GIVSP. The daily minimum is 90 minutes for membership and 120 minutes for jet cards.
The world’s private jet operator offers jet cards beginning at 25 hours. Deicing is included in all of its jet card programs. Its jet card line-up includes the Phenom 300, Citation XLS, Citation Sovereign, Challenger 350, Challenger 650, and Gulfstream GIV. There is no daily minimum for the Phenom 300 or XLS. Other aircraft carry a 60-minute daily minimum.
This boutique broker is a recent start-up. It offers jet cards beginning at 15 hours. All of its jet cards include deicing. It offers a category jet card program – light, midsize, super-midsize, and large-cabin aircraft. Daily minimums start at 79 minutes.
This major player in jet cards racked up $450 million in sales last year. It offers jet cards beginning at 25 hours. All of its jet cards include deicing. It offers a category jet card program – light, midsize, super-midsize, and large-cabin aircraft. In addition to providing a non-peak call-out of just 10 hours, it offers cancelation up to 10 hours before departure, handy if plans change, as in a bad snow report. Daily minimums start at 60 minutes.
Starflight is a boutique U.K.-based broker with a North American office and program. It offers jet cards beginning at 20 hours. All of its jet cards include deicing. It offers a category jet card program – light, midsize, super-midsize, and large-cabin aircraft. Daily minimums start at 90 minutes.
This boutique broker offers jet cards beginning at 25 hours. All of its jet cards include deicing. It offers a category jet card program – light, midsize, super-midsize, and large-cabin aircraft. Daily minimums start 120 minutes.
This second largest for-hire private jet provider in the U.S. offers pay-as-you-go and deposit options. Deicing is based on deposit and aircraft type. There is no deicing charge for Core members on the King Air 350i, light jets, and midsize jets. For super-midsize and large-cabin jets, deicing is included if you deposit $400,000. If you deposit $200,000, you pay up to $3,000; at $50,000 and $100,000 deposit, you pay up to $6,000. Pay-as-you-go members pay 100% of deicing costs incurred on super-midsize and large-cabin jets. Daily minimums vary by type and deposit as well.
The brokerage arm of Vista Global Holding, it sells onto the fleets of XOJET Aviation, VistaJet, Red Wing Aviation, and Talon Air, plus off-fleet Its Elite Access fixed-rate program ($100,000 deposit, refundable) includes deicing on light, midsize, and its Citation X and Challenger 300 options. Daily minimums range from 60 to 90 minutes, plus taxi time. However, it offers a 3.5-hour cap on the Citation X and Challenger 300.
If you are flying to mountain airports, ask your jet card provider about additional training requirements they may have for flying into the popular ski resorts.
As a paid subscriber, you can compare jet card pricing for your preferred flights in seconds. In the QUICK COMPARE FLIGHT PRICING calculator, enter the number of hours you expect to fly in the next 12 months in cell AF1. In cell AG1, enter the estimated flight minutes. Filter by other parameters (in Row 3), including hours aircraft size and whether you want guaranteed availability. If you want a custom analysis, use the JET CARD DECIDER form.
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