Jet charter costs can vary based on the slightest changes to an itinerary. When you charter a plane for a round-trip, one of three things generally happens:
With these basic points in mind, we can discuss how one-way flights work and how to lower the cost to charter a jet for a one-way trip.
If you don't use a private jet broker or have a jet card/fractional share, you may be flying with a local fixed-fleet operator in your area.
When you book a one-way charter with a fixed-fleet operator, one of two things usually happens:
In both scenarios above, you pay for the plane to fly 'empty' for some distance in order to get you from A to B. Your plane needs to get back to its home base, remember?
As such, many one-way flights are priced at round-trip rates, in terms of the billable flight hours the charterer pays for.
If you don't pay for the empty air time created by your one-way flight, it would be lost revenue to the owner of the plane. Empty air time charges can greatly increase the cost to charter a jet.
Charter plane prices are largely determined by the following:
Depending on these basic factors, your mission plan and price can change dramatically.
Most aircraft have a 2-hr daily minimum flight time commitment to book.
For example, if you book a 3-day round-trip from New York to Chicago, your charter plane price may reflect 6 hours of billable flight time (3 days x 2.0hrs = 6.0hrs) even though the plane is only in the air for around 4hrs.
Keeping this 2hr daily minimum in mind, let's look at the different ways round-trip flight from New York to Chicago could be priced.
Visit our Glossary to learn why aircraft owners impose 2hr daily minimums.
| Trip Details | |
|---|---|
| Routing: | New York, NY to Chicago, IL |
| Flight Time | 2hrs each way |
| Aircraft Type | Light Jet |
| Hourly Rate | $2,500 |
| Duration | 3 Days / 2 Nights |
| FEE TYPE | AMOUNT |
| Flight Time (4hrs) | $10,000.00 |
| Daily Min Fees (2hrs) | $5,000.00 |
| Fuel Surcharge | $750.00 |
| Crew Fees | $1,200.00 |
| Landing Fees | $150.00 |
| Subtotal | $17,100.00 |
| Federal Excise Tax (7.5%) | $1,282.50 |
| GRAND TOTAL | $18,382.50 |
Is there a way to eliminate overnight fees and daily min adjustments?
If you have a dedicated private jet broker, they can provide two different planes for each leg of your trip, both priced at or near one-way value.
Using two planes eliminates overnight fees and daily min adjustments, reducing charter jet prices considerably.
| Trip Details | |
|---|---|
| Routing | New York, NY to Chicago, IL |
| Flight Time | 2hrs each way |
| Aircraft Type | Light Jet |
| Hourly Rate | $2,500 |
| Duration | 3 Days / 2 Nights |
| FEE TYPE | AMOUNT |
| Day 1 Flight Time (2hrs) | $5,000.00 |
| Day 3 Flight Time (2hrs) | $5,000.00 |
| Fuel Surcharge | $750.00 |
| Crew Fees | $1,200.00 |
| Landing Fees | $150.00 |
| Subtotal | $12,100.00 |
| Federal Excise Tax (7.5%) | $907.50 |
| GRAND TOTAL | $13,007.50 |
In this scenario, you saved around $5,000 by booking this trip as two separate one-way flights.
What if there are no one-way flights available?
In most cases, even if there are no direct one-way matches for your trip, your charter broker can provide NEAR point-to-point value.
Book the trip with two NEAR one-way matches:
While these matches are not perfect for your New York to Chicago routing, they only add one (1) total hour of flight time to your bill (.5hrs each day).
If you use these planes for your trip, you will pay the additional .5hrs per day to get the planes over to their final destinations after you use them.
| Trip Details | |
|---|---|
| Routing | New York, NY to Chicago, IL |
| Flight Time | 2hrs each way |
| Aircraft Type | Light Jet |
| Hourly Rate | $2,500 |
| Duration | 3 Days / 2 Nights |
| FEE TYPE | AMOUNT |
| Day 1 Flight Time (2.5hrs) | $6,250.00 |
| Day 2 Flight Time (2.5hrs) | $6,250.00 |
| Fuel Surcharge | $750.00 |
| Crew Fees | $1,200.00 |
| Landing Fees | $150.00 |
| Subtotal | $14,600.00 |
| Federal Excise Tax (7.5%) | $1,095.00 |
| GRAND TOTAL | $15,695.00 |
Even when there are no perfect matches available, your charter provider should be able to match your trip with aircraft heading in your general direction.
Check out our Charter Flight Cost Calculator to view instant price estimates.
Browse the articles below to learn more, or return to the Jet Charter Pricing main page to view all available topics.