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The charter pricing guideChapter 05 of 05

What actually moves a charter price.

Every quote is six numbers. Here they are on a real $47,260 transcon 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
  • 01
    AIRFRAME
    $36,400
    On the $47,260 example

    Airframe 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.

  • 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.

  • 03
    REPOSITIONING
    $0
    On the $47,260 example

    Repositioning is the avoidable one.

    If the right airframe 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 06
    GROUND TRANSPORT
    $360
    On the $47,260 example

    Ground is the rounding error done right.

    Sedan transfer curb-to-FBO 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.

The full worked example lives in what charter costs and on how it works. 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.

Or just ask a human.

The dispatch desk wrote this guide and picks up in under twenty seconds — every hour of every day.

Request a quote →Call dispatch · +1 (424) 487-2707