The first quote most people see for a private flight lands in their inbox as a single number, and the natural reaction is to ask where it came from. Fair question. A charter quote isn't a price pulled from a rate card — it's a short stack of real costs, assembled for one specific trip, and once you can read the stack you can compare any two quotes on the market with confidence.
Here's how the desk builds one.
The hourly rate does the heavy lifting
Every quote starts with an aircraft category and an hourly rate. Flight time on the route, times the rate for the cabin you need — that's usually 70–85% of the final number before taxes.
Two things follow from that. First, the single biggest lever you control is category: if four passengers are flying two hours, a light jet does the mission and a heavy jet does the same mission for roughly double. Second, flight time is geography, not negotiation — which is why the same midsize jet prices so differently on Los Angeles to Las Vegas than on Los Angeles to New York.
Current market ranges by category are on the cost calculator, and the full breakdown of how hourly rates are set lives in the pricing guide. We keep both updated so the numbers you compare against are never stale — one reason you won't see us hand-type rates into a blog post that will outlive them.
The lines that ride along
After flight time, a handful of line items attach to nearly every domestic trip:
| Line item | What it actually is |
|---|---|
| Federal excise tax | The 7.5% FET applied to domestic charter transportation, plus per-passenger segment fees |
| Landing and ramp fees | What the airport and FBO charge the aircraft to land, park, and turn around |
| Crew expenses | Hotel and per diem when the trip keeps the crew away overnight |
| Repositioning | Flight time to get the aircraft to you, when it isn't already based nearby |
| Catering and extras | Whatever is stocked beyond standard provisions — plus de-icing in winter, which nobody enjoys but everybody pays |
None of these are padding. What separates a clean quote from a messy one is whether they're itemized up front or discovered on the final invoice. When you get a quote from any broker, the first thing to check is whether the number is all-in. Ours are.
Where the number moves
The same trip can price differently week to week, and the reasons are structural:
- Peak days. Holiday weekends, big sporting events, school-break corridors — demand spikes, supply doesn't, and operators price accordingly.
- One-way vs. round trip. A round trip on the same tail is often more efficient than two one-ways, because the aircraft isn't flying home empty in the middle.
- Lead time. Booking close-in doesn't always cost more, but it narrows the field of available aircraft, and a narrow field rarely prices in your favor.
- Airport choice. The busiest field isn't always the smart one. Reliever airports — the ones built for private traffic — often mean lower fees and shorter drives. Our city guides cover which airport actually serves each market best.
And sometimes the number moves dramatically in your favor: when an aircraft has to reposition empty anyway, that flight gets sold at a steep discount. That's the entire empty-legs board.
How to compare two quotes
If you have quotes from two brokers for the same trip, don't compare the totals first. Compare these:
- The aircraft. A quote for a category is not a quote for a tail. Ask what specific aircraft — and what year — you're actually getting.
- What's included. All-in with taxes and fees, or a base number with the rest to follow?
- The operator. Every flight we arrange is flown by an FAA Part 135 certificated carrier, and we vet beyond the certificate — here's exactly how.
- Who answers at 11pm. Cheapest quote in the inbox means very little when there's a mechanical the night before departure and nobody picks up.
There's a longer, more direct version of this comparison in what a private jet broker actually does — including the uncomfortable parts.
Run your own number
Reading about pricing only goes so far. The cost calculator prices any route by category against current market ranges, and the quote wizard prices your actual trip — route, date, passengers — live, no callback required.
And if the number raises a question, call the desk. We wrote this; we can defend it.
— Questions this raises
Asked at the desk
Is a charter quote all-inclusive?
Ours are. Every quote itemizes flight time, federal excise tax, landing and handling fees, crew expenses, and repositioning so the number you approve is the number you pay. Ask any broker the same question before comparing totals.
Why did two brokers quote the same trip so differently?
Usually one of three things: a different aircraft category or age, a base number with fees to follow versus an all-in figure, or a repositioning cost one broker absorbed by sourcing an aircraft already nearby.
Does booking further ahead make a charter cheaper?
Not automatically, but it widens the field of available aircraft, and a wider field almost always prices better than a narrow one. Peak dates are the exception — those price up regardless of lead time.
What is the federal excise tax on charter?
A 7.5% tax on domestic charter transportation plus a per-passenger segment fee, both passed through on every quote. International legs carry different taxes and fees, which the desk itemizes the same way.
— JetNine dispatch desk · Updated September 1, 2026 · pricing · how it works · first booking
