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How to Choose a private jet charter Company?As the pace of your life accelerates, it’s clear that your time is becoming too valuable to spend waiting in airports for delayed flights to activities or meetings that had to be postponed until you arrived! You begin thinking about private jet charter -- a faster, easier, more customized way to travel to your destination.

Flying in a private jet is one of the safest and most luxurious ways to travel. Unlike commercial airlines, private jets fly in and out of smaller suburban airports that are closer to departure and destination points. Also, typically smaller airports do not have the long lines or delays passengers have come to expect at any of today’s large urban airports.
Steps

1. Get Started. In order to find a jet charter operator with high safety standards and great professional credentials, consider some important factors, including: (1) research on one or more charter operators that seem acceptable, (2) validation of the operator’s safety records and professional standards and (3) selection of the aircraft that would best suit your needs. The first step is finding a charter operator.
2. Identify the Right Charter Operator. Yes, one could check the local yellow pages or a favorite search engine to locate charter companies. However, there won’t be any information about the quality of individual companies there, other than what is written in advertisements created by the companies themselves. A better source for overall quality is a charter broker who uses only officially rated operators (such as Jets International) or an auditing company such as Wyvern Consulting (Wyvern; wyernltd.com) or Aviation Research Group (ARG/US; aviationresearch.com).
3. Validate the Charter Company. The next step is verifying the charter company’s advertising claims through official documentation. In order to simplify this complicated task, one can break down the process into three categories: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) documentation, insurance and third-party audits.
* FAA Documentation – Each charter company must have a valid Part 135 air taxi certificate which authorizes it to fly for hire. Obtaining a Part 135 certificate requires the charter company to adhere to tough FAA guidelines and is strictly enforced by the FAA. Unfortunately, there are some charter companies that will attempt to fly under the less strict Part 91 (owner flown) regulations. These rules have far less FAA oversight, and for this reason, the liability of the passenger is increased. Therefore, it’s important not only to ask for a copy of the FAA air taxi certificate, but also to ask the company under which regulations your flights will be flown.
* Insurance – Often overlooked, insurance can provide a great deal of information about a charter company. Typical limits for a charter company are $25M for a small jet (such as a Cessna Citation, Lear 35 or Beachjet), $50M for a mid-sized jet (such as a Hawker, Lear 55 or Citation III) and $100M for a large jet (such as a Challenger, Gulfstream or Falcon 900.)Often, these higher insurance limits require an audit by the insurance company to assure that the pilots and mechanics have the appropriate experience to operate a safe flight. Also, another free service most operators will offer is for the passenger to be “named additional insured” on the policy. This option is really a personal decision. It should be considered if the passenger flies private charter on an ongoing, regular basis.
* Third Party Audits – There are several companies that specialize in auditing charter companies. The industry’s most used service is Aviation Research Group (ARG/US). ARG/US compiles several databases, including FAA, Department of Transportation (DOT) and one on aircraft transactions, to determine the safety records of the operator, its pilots and its aircraft. In addition, these companies will perform on-site audits on safety procedures, aircraft log books and additional documentation.
4. Select an Aircraft: Often, a charter company will provide pictures of an aircraft under consideration for a trip. Be warned, however, that pictures are deceiving and may not be current. The only way absolutely to ensure the status of an aircraft is to view it personally, or to talk with others who have flown in it. Your charter broker should be able to help make that previous passenger connection. Also, because insurance levels can change at any time and vary by aircraft within the same fleet, it is important to ask for a copy of the insurance policy before each and every flight.
5. Good luck on your next charter flight …and happy flying!

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