January 26, 2025
There are many reasons to book private jet charter flights trip-by-trip. However, it’s not necessarily a risk mitigation strategy. Here’s why.
Seeing on-demand private jet charter flights pitched as a risk-free alternative to prepaid jet cards is always interesting. The inference, often quite direct, is that with prepaid jet cards, your funds are at risk if the provider fails, whereas with ad hoc charters, you mitigate that risk by booking on a trip-by-trip basis.
Should I charter flight by flight?
This is a common question if you are a low-volume flyer or just lost money to a jet card or fractional failure.
While I always say a good charter broker is like gold, chartering ad hoc or on-demand also has risks.
The saying is every rose has its thorns.
That’s true in private aviation as well.
Jet cards, ad hoc charters, fractional ownership, and full ownership can offer users both the best of times and the worst of times.
We’ve looked at some risks and downsides of jet cards and fractional ownership.
So, let’s look at some of the tripwires with on-demand charters.
Cancelations and changes for one-way private jet charter flights are often not permitted after booking – and can be subject to a 100% penalty.
The critical thing to remember is unless it is the same airplane and crew, and they are staying with you – usually same day or overnight – in private jet speak, you are buying a one-way even if in that same booking, your broker or the operator is arranging the return flight a week later.
Last week, I heard about a flyer losing over $100,000 when he canceled an international one-way flight.
If you twist your ankle and want to cancel that golf trip, you could lose the money you paid for an on-demand charter flight.
I had one subscriber who lost $40,000 on this exact scenario.
A good broker will work with an operator to refund as much of the cost as possible.
But it’s not like the airlines where you get a flight credit.
I spent the better part of an hour explaining that, according to what he told me, his broker wasn’t trying to scam him.
The same restrictions apply to changing flight times and routings.
That said, your flight providers will try to accommodate you.
Don’t expect a no – the industry works to make you happy while not sacrificing safety.
However, per the contract, you should not expect them to change your departure time or routing or provide a refund.
The counter is with many jet cards you can change and cancel 24 to 168 hours before departure.
If it’s raining in Florida, why bother going down for the weekend?
Cancelation penalties, changes, and the ability to cancel or change on short notice often draw folks to jet cards and fractional ownership.
Tip: If you book ad hoc and want cancelation flexibility, tell your broker to source an operator with flexible cancelation terms and then read the contract.
You can compare the booking and cancelation fees between jet cards and fractionals in the Travel Planning section of the comparison spreadsheet, starting with Column CE.
READ: Fine Print: Not all Jet Card cancelation penalties are the same
Needless to say, there are bad actors in any business.
As you would before wiring $200,000 to a jet card company with a nice website, do some due diligence before booking private jet charter flights ad hoc.
I always recommend searching for the name of the company and the word lawsuit.
Find out who the principals are as well.
Many charter broker websites don’t list the names of their principals.
I’ve covered numerous allegations of fraud.
They also include flyers who allege they were scammed after booking ad hoc charter flights.
READ: Caveat Emptor: Avoiding private jet scams, bankruptcies, and shutdowns
When the operator cancels your flight, it’s not like the airlines.
Your flight provider will check other options and offer you a requote.
A requote is essentially repricing your desired trip based on dynamic pricing—what the market wants to charge—and availability to get you moving as soon as possible.
Requotes can add anywhere from zero to 50% or more to your expected cost, particularly in busy periods.
If you don’t agree to the requote, you can get a refund and make your own arrangements.
If you can wait until the next day or the day after, your provider can often find a no-extra-cost alternative.
Still, many jet cards offer recovery flights at no extra charge.
You can compare this in Column DN of our comparison spreadsheet.
Flyers don’t realize that guaranteed rate jet card providers can lose money on recovery flights until they book on-demand and get a requote that’s more than the original cost.
READ: Where does your private jet come from?
Extras can add up.
Deicing ranges from low thousands to around $10,000 for a large cabin jet.
Some jet cards include deicing.
If you travel to wintry destinations frequently, it is something to consider.
The same goes for free WiFi, which some jet card providers include in your price.
Flyers have been surprised with WiFi bills in the hundreds and thousands of dollars when they are charged as an extra.
And then there is catering.
Private jet catering is not cheap.
While less prevalent, some jet card sellers include catering meals.
Free catering can easily range in the hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars per flight.
Your membership includes the ability to compare deicing (Column BM), WiFi (Columns CX and CY), and Catering (Columns CV and CW)!
READ: Private Jet Catering – The $177 Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Private jet charter contracts sometimes allow for extra charges if there is extra flight time, including weather and ATC reroutings.
While brokers tell me this is not usual, don’t be surprised if your credit card is charged after the flight because of the longer duration.
Most flyers think the price is set in stone when they sign the charter contract.
Well, it is, until it isn’t.
This can also apply to fuel surcharges.
Charter contracts you sign with a broker often include a clause that terms from the broker’s agreement with the operator supersede the terms of your contract with the broker.
This can relate to anything from cancelation penalties to post-flight extra charges, including those related to flight time.
Again, these don’t happen frequently, nor do jet card failures.
Ad hoc charters are priced flight-by-flight based on market supply and demand.
With hundreds of operators and no central place to compare live pricing accurately, brokers call and email to get hard quotes.
Prices change trip-by-trip.
They also vary by route.
A two-and-a-half-hour flight between New York and South Florida can cost as little as half the cost of a similar two-and-a-half-hour flight in the Midwest.
That’s because repositioning flights are factored into your quote.
In New York and South Florida, the next customer is likely waiting at the airport where you are landing.
In the Midwest, after they drop you off and on their way to pick you up, there could well have been more than an hour of repositioning on each end.
Somebody has to pay for those empty flights.
Pricing also varies based on seasonality, day of the week, holidays, etc.
Those New York to Florida flights cheaper than your jet card last time can be double the price for the date you need to travel this time.
With ad hoc charters, sometimes you will get pricing that is better than the guaranteed rate of jet cards.
Other times, it can be a lot more.
READ: Which private jet pricing method is best for you?
When operators fail, in addition to jet card holders, funds for upcoming ad hoc flights – if money hasn’t been escrowed – a rarity – are also classified as unsecured creditors.
In other words, the money you paid for that upcoming one-off charter flight is no better protected than jet card funds on deposit.
This holds for payments you made to a broker holding your funds before transferring them to an operator.
While you may not have $200,000 at risk as you would with a jet card trip, you have the same loss of money risk for that next trip, which could be $15,000 to over $100,000.
The Zetta Jet failure in 2017 included ad hoc customers who had paid for upcoming charter flights.
Executive Airlink didn’t offer a jet card when the operator closed suddenly in 2023.
Brokers reported they lost funds for flights that hadn’t been flown.
Because frequent flyers tire of wiring funds and paying credit card fees, many on-demand flyers keep funds in their account with a flight provider.
If you do this and the funds are not escrowed properly – separate accounts don’t protect your funds – you have the same risk as a prepaid jet card.
READ: Private jet provider financial stability – what you said
On-demand private jet charter flights are an excellent solution for many flyers.
Booking ad hoc can result in much better prices for specific trips.
Same-day and next-day roundtrips are often much better priced on demand.
It also allows you to customize your journey like most jet cards don’t allow.
Ad hoc booking is often a better solution for those who want specific vintages, configurations, and aircraft types.
Using ad hoc charters as a risk-mitigating strategy against losing prepaid jet card funds has its thorns and risks.
It is something each flyer has to balance in making their decisions.
I suggest reading 16 Reasons To Use A Private Jet Charter Broker.
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