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Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline).
Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights require certification from the associated country's civil aviation authority. The regulations are differentiated from typical commercial/passenger service by offering a non-scheduled service.
Analogous regulations generally also apply to air ambulance and cargo operators, which are often also ad hoc for-hire services.
In the United States, these flights are regulated under FAA Part 135. [1] There are some cases where a charter operator can sell scheduled flights, but only in limited quantities. [2] As of 2021, the FAA had made it a priority to crack down on unauthorised charter flights, according to industry experts. [3]
There are several business models which offer air charter services from the traditional charter operator to brokers and jet card programs:
Charter aircraft categories include:
There are an estimated 15,000 business jets available for charter in the world. The US market is the largest, followed by the European market with growing activity in the Middle East, Asia, and Central America. [4]
Some charter airlines have employed other types of jets, including Airbus, Boeing, and McDonnell Douglas mainline airliners such as the Douglas DC-10 and Boeing 747. Arrow Air of the United States was such an airline. Among other aircraft, it employed a fleet of 6 DC-10 aircraft from 1983. [5]
An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest of them are wide-body jets which are also called twin-aisle because they generally have two separate aisles running from the front to the back of the passenger cabin. These are usually used for long-haul flights between airline hubs and major cities. A smaller, more common class of airliners is the narrow-body or single-aisle. These are generally used for short to medium-distance flights with fewer passengers than their wide-body counterparts.
The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of 3,700 nmi. Final assembly of the aircraft takes place in Hamburg, Germany and Tianjin, China.
A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more personal comfort than commercial aircraft, and may be adapted for other roles, such as casualty evacuation or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by public bodies, government officials, VIPs, or even the military.
Condor, legally incorporated as Condor Flugdienst GmbH, is a German airline based in Neu Isenburg, Hesse. It was established in 1955 with Frankfurt Airport as its main base. Condor offers scheduled and charter flights and operates, from Germany, medium-haul flights to the Mediterranean Basin and the Canary Islands as well as long-haul flights to destinations in Africa, Asia, North America, South America and the Caribbean. Whereas medium-haul flights are operated from many German airports and Zurich, long-haul flights usually depart from Frankfurt, with a few charter services operated from Düsseldorf and Munich.
Wardair Canada was a privately run Canadian airline, founded by Max Ward in 1952 under the name Wardair Ltd, before formally changing its name to "Wardair Canada" in 1976. The airline was acquired by and merged into Canadian Airlines in 1989.
Privatair SA was a Swiss airline headquartered in Meyrin, which operated business jets as well as scheduled services on behalf of major airlines. In addition the company operated crew and pilot training facilities. PrivatAir SA was a registered air carrier with two air operator's certificates, in Switzerland and through its subsidiary PrivatAir GmbH in Germany. On 5 December 2018, PrivatAir filed for insolvency and ceased operations.
Champion Air was an airline based in Bloomington, Minnesota, USA. It primarily operated air charter services for sports teams, vacation wholesalers, and government agencies. It also offered limited scheduled service. Its main base was Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, with hubs at Denver International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Harry Reid International airport in Las Vegas, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, and Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. The airline ceased all operations on May 31, 2008. Until its shutdown, the airline was a prime contractor for the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System.
Titan Airways Limited is a British charter airline based at London Stansted Airport. The carrier specialises in short-notice ACMI and wet lease operations, as well as ad-hoc passenger and cargo charter services to tour operators, corporations, governments, and the sports and entertainment sectors. The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, permitting it to carry passengers, cargo and mail, on aircraft with 20 or more seats.
BH Air Ltd. is a Bulgarian registered airline based in Sofia. Part owned by Balkan Holidays Services based in Sofia, not Balkan Holidays Ltd, the Tour Operator based in London. BH Air provides charter flights to tour operators in the UK, Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and other European countries, as well as ad hoc charters to other destinations. Also, flights to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East are operated for groups traveling in connection with cultural and sports events and on business. The airline's main base is Sofia, with secondary ones at Burgas, Varna and Plovdiv.
SonAir Airline Services, S.A., commonly known as SonAir was established as DAR on 10 October 1979, is a venture of the Angolan national petroleum company Sonangol Group.
A trijet is a jet aircraft powered by three jet engines. In general, passenger airline trijets are considered to be second-generation jet airliners, due to their innovative engine locations, in addition to the advancement of turbofan technology. Trijets are more efficient than quadjets, but not as efficient as twinjets, which replaced trijets as larger and more reliable turbofan engines became available.
Air transports for heads of state and government are, in many countries, provided by the air force in specially equipped airliners or business jets. One such aircraft in particular has become part of popular culture: Air Force One, used by the President of the United States and operated by the United States Air Force. Other well-known official aircraft include the Russian presidential aircraft, the British Royal Air Force VIP aircraft, the French Cotam 001, the Royal Canadian Air Force VIP aircraft, the German Konrad Adenauer, the Royal Australian Airforce VIP aircraft, the Japanese Air Force One, the South Korean Code One, the Indian Air India One, the Brazilian Air Force One, and the Israeli Wing of Zion.
Aviation Partners Inc. (API) is a Seattle-based private corporation that specializes in performance-enhancing winglet systems. The corporation was founded in 1991 and is owned by The Washington Companies.
Jetalliance Flugbetriebs GesmbH was a chartered airplane provider based in Oberwaltersdorf, Austria. It was established and started operations in 1996 and used to operate an extensive business jet network. Its main base was Vienna International Airport.
Air Philippines Corporation, operating as PAL Express and formerly branded as Air Philippines and Airphil Express, is a wholly-owned subsidiary airline of Philippine Airlines. It is PAL's regional brand, with services from its hubs in Manila, Clark, Cebu, and Davao.
MHS Aviation GmbH is a German charter airline headquartered in Oberhaching, Bavaria. MHS Aviation is based at nearby Munich Airport, Special Airport Oberpfaffenhofen as well as Mannheim City Airport. The company specializes in aircraft charter, aircraft management, aircraft lease and VIP service. It currently operates a fleet of 20 charter aircraft. The majority of the fleet consists of business aircraft. In addition, one Dornier 328 aircraft was operated for the now defunct Rhein-Neckar Air on a scheduled domestic service.
LunaJets is a private jet broker with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, where it has been based since it was founded in 2007 by former Ogilvy advertiser Eymeric Segard. Additionally, they have opened offices throughout the years in London, Paris, Monaco, Riga and Dubai.
This is a list of aviation-related events in 2018.
This is a list of aviation-related events in 2019.
KaiserAir is a business jet and 737 Charter company, that also provides aircraft management services and has two San Francisco Bay Area FBO located in several Bay Area locations, Oakland International Airport and Sonoma County Airport. KaiserAir operates a fleet of charter aircraft and two FAA certified airlines. There are currently two weekly shuttle services to Hawaii operated by KaiserAir known as the Kona Shuttle and Hawaii Shuttle, in addition to exclusive VIP charters for corporations, athletic teams, families and other large groups. KaiserAir also operates an aircraft sales department with both purchasing and selling aircraft. The company was originally part of the in-house flight department of industrialist Henry Kaiser. The flight department was sold off to its chief pilot, Ronald J. Guerra, in 1980.
if they are going to fly others for a fee they require a Part 135 certificate, Williams said. "It's pretty serious" in terms of potential civil penalties for both the company that owns the aircraft and the pilot, Williams said. The FAA has made cracking down on unauthorized charter flights a priority
Media related to Charter airlines at Wikimedia Commons