Reference
Glossary
33 terms
Private aviation terms, defined: what each one means, what it does to the price you actually pay, and a worked example. From contract wording to cabin class.
10 terms
Contract terms
What the paperwork says: cards, memberships, minimums, surcharges and the clauses that decide what an hour actually costs.
Callout Window
A callout window is the amount of advance notice a jet card or membership contract requires between a client's request for a flight and its scheduled departure, within which the provider commits to supply an aircraft. Shorter windows command higher card prices; requests inside the window may incur a surcharge or be declined.
DefinitionDaily Minimum Flight Time
Daily minimum flight time is the minimum number of flight hours a charter contract bills for a single day, regardless of how few hours the aircraft actually flies. If a trip's actual flight time falls below this threshold, the client still pays for the minimum, so short trips can cost more per flown hour than longer ones.
DefinitionFloating Fleet
A floating fleet is a pool of aircraft from several operators that a jet card or membership programme draws upon to fulfil bookings, rather than assigning a client to one dedicated operator's aircraft. Because the aircraft varies flight to flight, cabin type, safety rating and terms can differ between trips, affecting price and consistency.
DefinitionFractional Ownership
Fractional ownership is a private aviation ownership model in which a buyer purchases a percentage share of a specific aircraft, typically one-sixteenth to one-half, entitling them to a proportional number of flight hours each year. A management company operates the aircraft; the buyer pays a purchase price, a monthly management fee and an hourly flight rate.
DefinitionFuel Surcharge
A fuel surcharge is an additional charge that a charter operator or jet card provider adds to the quoted price to cover rises in jet fuel costs, usually triggered when fuel prices move above a contract-set threshold. It is a contract term set by the operator, not a regulation, and increases the total price paid.
DefinitionGuaranteed Availability
Guaranteed availability is a jet card or membership contract clause promising an aircraft will be supplied within a stated callout window, even during high-demand periods, subject to conditions such as blackout dates or aircraft substitution. It is not a regulatory requirement; the promise, and any remedy if it is broken, is set entirely by the contract.
DefinitionJet Card
A jet card is a prepaid charter product in which a buyer deposits a fixed sum for a set number of flight hours on a defined category of aircraft, at an hourly rate fixed when the card is purchased. Unused hours typically expire at the end of the card's term.
DefinitionJet Card Expiry
Jet Card Expiry is the term length set in a jet card contract after which unused flight hours are forfeited, commonly one to two years from purchase. The clause determines whether a client loses unspent value at contract end, unless the agreement allows an extension, rollover or refund, which varies by provider.
DefinitionMembership vs Jet Card vs Charter
Membership, jet card and charter are three ways to buy private flight time. Charter is booking a single trip on demand; a jet card is prepaid hours at a fixed hourly rate for a set term; a membership is a subscription fee granting access to discounted rates, guaranteed availability or a floating fleet, billed separately per flight.
DefinitionPeak Day Surcharge
A peak day surcharge is an additional per-hour or per-flight fee that jet card, membership and some charter contracts add on high-demand travel dates, such as major holidays. It is added on top of the standard hourly rate, so a flight booked on a peak day costs more than the same flight on an ordinary day.
Definition
8 terms
Regulation
The rules an operator flies under, and the difference between the ones that protect you and the ones that do not.
Air Operator Certificate (AOC)
An Air Operator Certificate (AOC) is the certificate a commercial air operator must hold, issued in the UK by the Civil Aviation Authority and in EU member states under EASA rules, authorising it to carry fare-paying passengers or cargo. The United States uses a different certificate, issued under 14 CFR Part 119, and does not call it an AOC.
DefinitionAir Passenger Duty
Air Passenger Duty (APD) is a UK tax, administered by HM Revenue & Customs, charged on passengers departing from UK airports. Private jets usually fall into APD's 'higher rate' band, which applies to aircraft weighing 5.7 tonnes or more with fewer than 19 seats, making per-passenger duty substantially higher than on scheduled airline tickets.
DefinitionCharter Broker vs Operator
A charter broker arranges flights by finding an aircraft and operator for a client, but owns no aircraft and holds no operating certificate. An operator holds that certificate — in the US an FAA Part 135 certificate, in the UK and EU an Air Operator Certificate — and is legally responsible for the flight, which affects liability and pricing transparency.
DefinitionDry Lease vs Wet Lease
A dry lease provides an aircraft alone, so the lessee supplies its own crew and holds operational control, usually under its own Air Operator Certificate. A wet lease bundles crew, maintenance and insurance with the aircraft, and the lessor keeps operational control under its own certificate, which changes who is legally responsible for the flight.
DefinitionFederal Excise Tax
Federal Excise Tax (FET) is a United States federal tax, imposed under 26 U.S.C. § 4261, on amounts paid for taxable air transportation, including most Part 135 charter flights. It adds roughly 7.5% of the charter cost plus a flat per-segment fee, collected by the operator and shown as a separate line on the invoice.
DefinitionGrey Charter
Grey charter is the illegal practice of carrying paying passengers without the certificate the flight requires — in the United States, flying for hire under the private Part 91 rules instead of holding FAA Part 135 authority; in the UK or EU, flying commercially without an Air Operator Certificate. It removes the oversight and insurance certification requires.
DefinitionPart 380 Public Charter
Part 380 Public Charter is a United States Department of Transportation rule (14 CFR Part 380) that lets a company sell individual seats on a flight to the public, rather than chartering a whole aircraft. The flight itself is still flown by an FAA-certificated carrier under Part 121 or Part 135, which remains responsible for the operation.
DefinitionPart 91 vs Part 135
Part 91 and Part 135 are United States Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR) that distinguish private flying from commercial air charter. Part 91 covers an owner operating their own aircraft without compensation; Part 135 covers on-demand charter for hire, requiring an FAA Air Operator Certificate, stricter oversight, and federal excise tax on the fare.
Definition
9 terms
Operations
What happens on the day: positioning, block time, ground handling and the parts of a trip that are billed but not flown.
Block Time
Block time is the total time an aircraft is in motion under its own power, measured from brakes released at departure ('off-block') to brakes set at arrival ('on-block'), including taxi. Charter operators typically bill by block hour rather than pure airborne flight time, so ground delays add directly to the invoice.
DefinitionDeadhead
A deadhead flight is a leg flown with the aircraft's crew aboard but no paying, revenue passengers, usually to reposition the aircraft before or after a paying charter. Charter clients are commonly billed for this leg, so a one-way trip often costs close to what a round trip would cost.
DefinitionEmpty Leg Flight
An empty leg flight is a one-way charter repositioning leg that an aircraft must fly with no paying passenger aboard, which an operator or broker then offers for sale at a reduced price. Because the aircraft is flying anyway, empty legs are typically priced well below a standard one-way charter, but the schedule and route are fixed, not chosen.
DefinitionFBO (Fixed Base Operator)
An FBO, or Fixed Base Operator, is the private terminal at an airport that handles general and business aviation aircraft, crew and passengers — providing ramp parking, fuelling, hangarage, catering and passenger lounges. Charter clients pay for FBO services indirectly through handling fees, which appear as a separate line on many invoices.
DefinitionHandling Fees
Handling fees are charges levied by an FBO or airport ground handler for services provided to a private aircraft on the ground, such as ramp parking, fuelling coordination, catering and de-icing. Operators bill these costs through to the charter client, usually as a separate line item added to the flight invoice.
DefinitionPositioning Flight
A positioning flight is the leg an aircraft flies without passengers to reach the airport where a paid charter begins, or to return to its base once a charter ends. Charter clients are usually billed for this empty flying time, so cost depends heavily on where the aircraft starts, not just the distance travelled with passengers aboard.
DefinitionRepositioning Cost
Repositioning cost is the charge billed to a charter client for flying an aircraft empty to or from a trip, covering positioning and deadhead legs when no fare-paying passenger is aboard. It appears as an added charge or is folded into the quoted price, and can substantially raise the cost of a one-way charter.
DefinitionSlot Restrictions
Slot restrictions require an aircraft to hold an allocated take-off or landing time, a 'slot', before operating at a congested airport, to manage runway capacity. In the United States, the FAA designates slot-controlled airports such as JFK, LaGuardia and Reagan National under 14 CFR Part 93; the UK and EU allocate slots through national coordinators under Regulation 95/93.
DefinitionTail Number
A tail number is the unique registration identifier painted on an aircraft's tail and fuselage, issued by a national aviation authority — an N-number by the US FAA, a G-prefix mark by the UK CAA. It identifies one specific aircraft, letting a buyer verify its safety records and operator, rather than pricing anything directly.
Definition
3 terms
Safety ratings
The third-party audits and what each rating level actually certifies, as distinct from what it is marketed as.
IS-BAO Stages 1, 2 and 3
IS-BAO Stages 1, 2 and 3 are three levels within the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations, a voluntary safety code from the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC). Stage 1 shows a safety management system exists on paper; Stage 2, that it functions; Stage 3, that it is mature. It carries no direct fee, though it affects operator selection.
DefinitionPart 135 Operator Safety Record
A Part 135 Operator Safety Record is the aggregate history of an operator holding a United States FAA Part 135 air carrier certificate: its accident and incident history, FAA enforcement actions, and results from voluntary third-party audits such as ARGUS or Wyvern. No single official FAA score exists; brokers and buyers piece it together from separate sources.
DefinitionThird-Party Safety Audit
A third-party safety audit is an assessment of an aircraft operator's safety management, maintenance and training records carried out by an independent company such as ARGUS International or Wyvern, rather than by the operator itself or a government regulator. It is voluntary, carries no fixed fee to a charter client, but shapes which operators brokers will book.
Definition
3 terms
Aircraft
Cabin classes and the trade-offs between them — range against payload, size against airport access.
Cabin Class
Cabin class is the industry practice of grouping private aircraft by cabin size, layout and range into categories such as light, midsize, super-midsize and heavy jet, used to price and compare charter, jet card and fractional aircraft. It is a commercial convention, not a government classification, and higher cabin classes carry materially higher hourly rates.
DefinitionLight Jet vs Midsize vs Heavy Jet
Light jet, midsize jet and heavy jet are industry categories that group private aircraft by cabin size, passenger capacity and range, rather than a formal regulatory classification. Light jets are smallest and cheapest to charter; heavy jets carry more passengers over longer distances at a materially higher hourly rate.
DefinitionRange vs Payload Trade-Off
The range vs payload trade-off is the aerodynamic relationship by which an aircraft's usable range falls as the weight it carries — passengers, baggage and cargo — rises, because total weight cannot exceed its maximum takeoff weight. Fully loaded, an aircraft flies less far than its advertised maximum range, sometimes forcing an unplanned fuel stop.
Definition
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