Air charter
Next generation avionics and systems may also make these small airports accessible even in poor weather conditions. RTI International, a nonprofit research organization, has developed a modeling and simulation tool which allows operators (or potential investors) the opportunity to craft a living business plan to gauge the potential of any prospective air taxi operation. With surplus aircraft available, air charter companies entered the business of charter flights for executives, high end travelers, special missions (such as organ donor flights, critical auto parts freight, etc.), sports teams, entertainers, etc. The 1960s saw the arrival of the first small jets, such as the Learjet.The term operational control indicates which entity (aircraft owner, management company, broker, etc.) is controlling the aircraft s movements, crewing and compliance with applicable government regulations. Companies such as Blue Star Jets offer air charter. Air charter is also known as air taxi (though this term has other senses), executive charter, jet charter and is part of general aviation.
New technologies in engine design, airframe manufacturing methods, computer aided design and avionics as well as ATC upgrades, many say, will come together to drastically reduce cost while increasing efficiency, comfort and safety. Those hours may expire at a designated time or be available for partial refund.
These regulations are given in Part 91 Subpart K and bring fractional aircraft operations into line with existing air charter regulations, making fractional ownership into simply another flavor of ad hoc air transportation. Jet Membership was created in 1999 by Sentient Jet, and allowed fliers to secure guaranteed access to charter aircraft in exchange for putting funds on deposit into a debit-card style account, with aircraft provided based on booking in a size category rather than by a specific aircraft model. Both companies still exist today as larger charter management firms.
These aircraft (such as the Eclipse 500) are said to be easier to fly and much cheaper to produce than current production jets. Others maintain that these new aircraft will lower the barriers to ownership enabling more wealthy individuals to own jet aircraft, but will not result in their wide adoption for commercial applications.
One of the earliest forms of private flying and still growing, the passenger selects a specific charter quote provided by a local aircraft operator or national broker and pays for that trip alone, either before or after the flight. They cost far less than fixed winged aircraft and do not need an air strip to take off or land. Some aviation professionals foresee the middle class traveling easily and with much less expense than is currently possible, using VLJs (very light jets) and other types of comparatively inexpensive aircraft.
While the airlines specialize in selling transportation by the seat, air charter companies focus on individual private aircraft and itineraries, urgent or time-sensitive freight, cargo, air ambulance and any other form of ad hoc air transportation. Jet Membership, Jet Cards and On Demand Charter fall under more stringent FAA regulations Part-135 governing aircraft for hire with paying passengers. Small helicopters with carrying capacity of 4-12 people have also become very popular.
On Demand Charter is trip by trip, pay as you go charter. 5,400 small airports across the United States make point-to-point air travel on smaller jets quicker for travelers than the airline hub and spoke system.
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). A number of owners share an aircraft (or a certain type aircraft - one of many a fractional company manages).
The Learjet was adopted by some of the first jet air charter operators, such as Hop-A-Jet and Clay Lacy. Owners purchase typically from 1/2 to 1/16 of an aircraft, pay a per-flight-hour charge, related fuel and flight fees, and divide management expenses.
Fractional aircraft ownerships growth led to the advent of regulations in the United States designed to regulate fractionally owned aircraft companies. Local entrepreneurs realized that by managing the aircraft that belonged to another entity (one that could afford to buy the multi-million dollar aircraft) they could help offset the cost of ownership through rental income and aggregate owner costs for insurance, fuel, maintenance, etc.
Today, this type of aircraft ownership arrangement forms more than 75% of the on-demand air charter industry for the United States, which encompasses about 70% of the air charter activity in the world. In 2004, the FAA began the process to re-regulate the Part 135 industry, mainly due to the widespread problems created by the tension between aircraft owners and management companies. The primary obstacles being that aircraft utilization is the largest limiter in reducing costs of operation (fixed overhead) not necessarily advancements in technology. The most notable evidence / example of this problem is the fact that direct operating costs of VLJs are not substantially lower than existing turbofan and turboprop technology that can carry larger loads, greater distances, and in some cases for a smaller initial investment. .
Critics argue that basic economics, demographics, industry inertia and operational constraints will automatically limit the birth of an air taxi industry. Several options are available for flying privately, according to investment available and flight frequency desired. In the United States air charter and air taxi operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, unlike the larger scheduled airlines, which are governed by more stringent standards of Part 121 of the FARs, which are regulations designed for scheduled air carriers. The growth of corporate aviation and related air taxi and air charter suppliers, boomed following the close of World War II.
Developed to answer questions about the economic and operational feasibility of the air-taxi market/business case during the SATS program, it has now been adopted in Europe and the US by a broad user base desiring to plan and optimize operations. Despite the substantial investments by firms such as DayJet, other aviation professionals remain skeptical on whether we can expect this mode of travel to flourish due to the decreased cost of personal air travel. Customers would pre-pay around $120,000 - $500,000 for a set number of flight hours on a particular aircraft model.
Fractional ownership programs popularized the notion of private aircraft use and ownership in the 1990s. Charter management became popular at the dawn of the private jet age as a way for companies to own aircraft off their books - namely away from the prying eyes of shareholders.
In 2006 the FAA released a new Operations Specification regulation and guidance which more clearly defined the requirements for operational control of an aircraft performing a private charter flight. Beginning in the late 1990s air charter benefited from the following growth factors: VLJ aircraft manufacturers maintain that the construction of cheaper, smaller and faster jets will enable point-to-point private aviation, creating a new industry. The FAA felt that air carriers (the air charter companies) had in some cases begun to lose operational control.
Jet Cards became popular around 2002-2005 when fractional companies and jet charter brokerages began offering pre-pay debit accounts for per-hour private aircraft charters on specific aircraft models.
