How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Private Jet?

Oct 05, 11 | 12:03 am

It's clear that most people who have not flown by private jet have very little idea of how much it costs to charter.

Even those who have used private jets before often find it difficult to understand how the pricing works.

Since the recession, private jet customers have become more cost-conscious and more demanding in securing the best deal and online aggregator for private jet charter PrivateFly.com believes the industry must respond by providing more transparency and choice.

We aim to make private jet pricing simple and fully understandable. and you can find instant estimate prices for any private jet flight using our private jet hire cost calculator. The cost of a private charter can vary considerably. From £2,000 for a short trip on a turboprop aircraft to £500,000 for a round-the-world trip on one of the biggest and most luxurious aircraft available. Of course most charters are somewhere between these extremes, with a two-day return flight on a small or medium jet within Europe ranging from around £4,000 to around £12,000. The price will depend on a number of factors including aircraft type, locations, timings and, of course, on the distance of the flight. The private jet charter price is for the whole aircraft so, for larger groups on some journeys, the cost per head can be comparable with business class airline fares.

Unlike airlines, private jets can operate from a large number of airports and the aircraft is often located in a different place to where the flight will start. Like a taxi, it will need to reposition itself (often empty) into the departure airport prior to the flight. Therefore, the cost of chartering the jet will take into account the cost of these positioning flights (which are often called empty sectors or empty legs). Empty legs can sometimes be sold as one-way charters to other customers, often at a substantial discount.

On a return trip, the length of time between the outward and return flights will also determine what extra costs are incurred for example airport parking charges and hotel costs for your crew.

To understand how the price of a private jet charter is calculated here is a list of the associated costs and what they mean:

• Flight Time: The hourly rate of the aircraft multiplies by the airborne flight time for the entire trip.

• Airport Landing Fees: Each airport charges a unique landing fee for an aircraft. This will depend on its weight.

• Airport Handling Fees: Most airports require an aircraft to be managed on the ground by a Fixed Based Operator (FBO) or Aircraft Handling Company. The charges incurred will cover the cost of arranging fuel, toilet servicing, passenger transport to and from the terminal, crew rest facilities and other handling requirements.

• Passenger Taxes: Depending on the route many countries now charge a passenger departure tax.

• Crew Salaries: Most private jets have 2 pilots but smaller propeller aircraft can operate with only one captain. Larger cabin aircraft such a Gulfstream will also have a flight attendant on-board.

• Crew Expenses: When working, the crew's meals will be provided by the company.

• Hotel Costs: Overnight hotel costs are always paid for by the aircraft operator and billed to the charterer.

• Ground Transport: Costs of taxis for the crew and any requested cars for the passengers will be added into the charter price.

Working example of private jet charter pricing

Let's take a simple example of a flight between airport A to airport B then back to A.

(This article appeared as a posting on online aggregator for private jet charter PrivateFly.com' s blog).

Source: eyefortravel.com