Beware of this sentence in jet card and ad hoc charter contracts

You scanned your jet card or ad hoc charter contract. It seems pretty straightforward. However, one sentence changes everything.

At the end of the day, it can cost you.

While we have covered the downside risks (and the good parts) of all five ways you can access private aviation, this sentence means extra work – or at least reading – every time you want to fly.

Before we get started, we also recommend reading:

• What happens to your jet card and private jet membership deposits?
• Do separate accounts provide security in a flight provider failure?
• Ad hoc Private Jet Charter: The anti-jet card solution has risks, too

As you can read in the above link, it’s critical to understand if you are buying a one-way or roundtrip flight, as they often have different cancellation terms.

But in this case, we want to highlight something we see in broker charter quotes and jet cards or memberships offered by boutique brokers.

And yes, the brochures promise flexibility.

And, when you read the contract, the contracts seemingly support that promise.

So, what sentence changes everything?

Look for something like this:

If these specific terms and conditions and the terms and conditions with the charter quote conflict, then the terms and conditions of the charter quote shall prevail.

Essentially, this sentence says you agree to terms you have not seen by signing this contract.

Those terms can change with each quote.

There are over 600 Part 135 operators in the U.S. with private jets on the charter certificate.

Many are small.

Only 60 have more than 10 jets on their charter certificate.

Each company will have slightly different nuances to their charter contracts.

Most typically, this impacts cancelation terms.

So the broker or jet card contract says you can cancel one-way flights with 96 hours’ notice.

That’s good unless the actual operator doesn’t allow it.

For each quote, you will want to review the actual operator terms.

This clause is mainly for ad hoc broker contracts, jet cards, or memberships offered by smaller players.

The rationale is, of course, that operating charter jets is expensive.

Management companies manage many charter jets for their owners.

The owner allows their airplane to be rented when not using it.

The management company markets the airplane to brokers who sell ad hoc charters and jet cards.

When somebody books a flight, they take their airplane off the market.

If you cancel, they have the lost revenue.

Some owners use charter revenue to offset expenses.

It can also impact scheduling for pilots and other charter or personal flights.

These airplanes are often based near the owner.

Big operators with floating fleets that move from customer to customer are less likely to have stricter cancelation terms.

Brokers source from both and protect themselves by deferring to operator terms.

READ: Where does your jet card private jet come from?

Operators may also reserve the right to add charges if the flight takes longer than estimated, mainly if the delay concerns weather or air traffic control.

It can also relate to fees for pets.

While this one sentence shouldn’t negate consideration of a program, it’s essential to understand the implications.

When in doubt, we always recommend consulting an experienced aviation attorney.