Chartering a Private Jet for the First Time: The Desk's Checklist

First charters come with a specific anxiety: everyone assumes there's an etiquette they haven't been told. There isn't. There's a short list of practical things, and this is it — the same sequence the desk walks through with every first-time caller.

Before you ask for a quote

Have four things roughly settled. None need to be precise; all of them shape the answer:

1. Route — city pairs are enough. The desk picks the actual airports, and the right one is usually not the airline one.
2. Dates and times — plus how flexible they are. Flexibility is worth real money.
3. Passenger count — the single biggest driver of aircraft category, which is the single biggest driver of price.
4. Luggage and cargo — skis, golf bags, a dog, a case of wine. All fine. All better mentioned now than at the aircraft door.

With those four, the quote wizard prices the trip live, or the desk does it on one call.

Reading the quote you get back

Whether it's ours or a competitor's, hold every quote to the same standard: an identified aircraft category (better: a specific tail and year), an all-in number with taxes and fees itemized, and a named operator. The full anatomy is in how a charter quote comes together — five minutes of reading that makes you a sharper buyer for life.

One question worth asking any broker: who operates this flight, and how did you vet them? Every flight we arrange is flown by an FAA Part 135 certificated carrier, and here is exactly what we check beyond the certificate. A broker who can't answer that question crisply has answered it.

Between booking and departure

Less happens than you'd think, which is the point. You'll confirm passenger names as they appear on government ID — that's the whole manifest process for a domestic flight. Catering preferences and ground transport get arranged if you want them. Then the desk watches the trip: weather, crew, aircraft readiness. If anything shifts — and in aviation, sometimes it does — you hear it from us with a solution attached, not a shrug.

Day of flight

• Arrive at the FBO — the private terminal — about 15 minutes before departure. Not two hours. This is most of what you're paying for.
• Drive up, hand off luggage, walk to the aircraft. There is no security line; the vetting happened when the manifest did.
• Bring the ID you gave the desk. For international trips, passports — and the desk will have briefed customs long before.
• Wheels up when you're aboard. Within reason, the schedule follows you rather than the reverse.

The questions people are embarrassed to ask

All of these are on the questions page with fuller answers, but rapid-fire: yes, the dog can usually come. Yes, you can bring wine. No, there's no dress code. Yes, you can work aboard — it's your cabin. And tipping the crew is appreciated, never expected.

First charter nerves are universal and last exactly until the first one. After that, the FAQ covers the details — and the desk answers 24/7 for everything it doesn't.