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The charter pricing guideChapter 5 of 5

What actually moves a charter price.

Six line items. Which ones you can influence.

Every quote is six numbers. Here they are on a real $47,260 coast-to-coast round trip — what moves each one, and which levers are actually yours to pull.

By the JetNine dispatch desk · Updated August 2026 · Rates reviewed quarterly

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  1. 01
    Aircraft
    $36,400
    On the $47,260 example

    Aircraft time is the price.

    Category hourly rate × block time — engine start to shutdown, both directions. It dwarfs everything else on the invoice, which is why the two decisions that matter are category (don't buy a heavy jet for a light-jet mission) and routing (fewer flown hours beats every other saving combined).

    Lever: Yours: right-size the category; the wizard recommends one per route.

  2. 02
    Fuel surcharge
    $5,800
    On the $47,260 example

    Fuel rides the market.

    Indexed to the weekly Jet-A spot price, and the reason two identical trips a month apart can differ by a few percent. On a JetNine quote it's priced in and locked at acceptance — if the spot moves after you accept, that's our cost to absorb, not a surcharge.

    Lever: Nobody's — but locking at acceptance makes it our risk, not yours.

  3. 03
    Repositioning
    $0
    On the $47,260 example

    Repositioning is the avoidable one.

    If the right aircraft isn't already near your departure airport, it ferries in — and that flying gets built into your price. It's $0 in the example because the aircraft was home-based on the departure coast. This line is why flexibility on dates or nearby airports saves real money, and why empty legs (someone else's repositioning) sell at 30–60% off.

    Lever: Yours, largely: flex the date, consider the secondary airport, watch the legs board.

  4. 04
    Crew & catering
    $1,400
    On the $47,260 example

    Crew and catering are mostly fixed.

    Two ATP-rated pilots on every flight is a safety floor, not an option, so crew cost doesn't flex. Catering does: standard cold service rides included; premium tiers and specific requests are itemized before you accept, never discovered after.

    Lever: Partly yours: catering tier and ground choices are itemized options.

  5. 05
    FET (7.5%)
    $3,300
    On the $47,260 example

    FET is the law, not a fee.

    The 7.5% Federal Excise Tax applies to every domestic charter, whoever brokers it. A competitor's quote without it isn't cheaper — it's a number that will grow later. We print it on every quote so the total you compare is the total you pay.

    Lever: Nobody's. Distrust any quote that hides it.

  6. 06
    Ground transport
    $360
    On the $47,260 example

    Ground is the rounding error done right.

    Sedan transfer from your curb to the private terminal is included on our quotes; an SUV upgrade is a line item, not a surprise. It's the smallest number on the invoice and the first impression of the trip — which is exactly why it shouldn't be an afterthought bolted on at the ramp.

    Lever: Yours: sedan included, upgrades itemized up front.

Your route

See the six numbers on your trip.

The full worked example lives in what charter costs and on how it works; the extras some quotes leave out are in charter fees. To see the six numbers on your own route, the calculator takes about ninety seconds.

Start a quote

Numbers read. Now price yours.

Route, date, and passenger count — the same engine behind every figure in this guide, live on your trip.

Start with a clear trip brief.

Share your route, dates and cabin needs.

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