MilesBuzz! - Anyone Chartered a Private Jet or Bid on a Private Jet Seat?

I was curious if anyone has personal experience using http://www.bidjetcharter.com , http://www.ejcharter.com or any realted companies. I am looking at some of these charter services and their prices don't seem to be that bad.

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Ken in Sacramento

Do I read correctly that the prices quoted on bidjetcharter.com are for the whole plane, not just for a seat on it? (~$1,000/hour for a small jet) If so, it's cheaper than I'd expected.

I know folks who have tried using private jets, and went back to commercial F class for the quieter, smoother, roomier ride.

Last March I chartered a jet from Teterboro to Naples, FL to West Palm Beach.. depart Teterboro at 2pm, idle at APF for about 5 hours, and continue on to PBI. Total time from departure to landing at PBI ~ 9 hours.

Custom Air in Washington, DC -- cost $12.5k. 2 adult pax, 2 kids.

Edited to say that this included transportation from home in New York to Teterboro, and meals onboard.

[This message has been edited by gleff (edited 02-13-2002).]

We have been renting a nice Challenger Jet (not sure of the number but it can seat 9 beside the pilot. We are paying $1200/hour plus a fee for the pilot. We are renting from a private owner.

This is the only way to fly (except I can't figure out how to get miles!)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Tall Paul:
We have been renting a nice Challenger Jet (not sure of the number but it can seat 9 beside the pilot. We are paying $1200/hour plus a fee for the pilot. We are renting from a private owner. </font>Do you know the pilot fee and do you keep the jet at your location or does it fly back empty to its base?

We pay $350 for the pilot for the day. No standby time for the plane, we only pay for it when it flys. If we stay overnight, we simply cover his out of pocket costs.

The plane owner keeps his plane in a hanger a short distance away from our office.

Its a great deal for both of us. The plane owner is simply trying to lower his cost of operations.

Oh, one more thing. I would suggest you go to the cafe near your airport where most private planes land (there is always a good cafe near these airports). If you ask around, I am sure they can help you locate private planes that may be rentable. Try to find one near an airforce base, we have lots of good pilots because of the close base.

[This message has been edited by Tall Paul (edited 02-14-2002).]

Hey Ken (BTW: still waiting for that invite to the country club down may way for a beer), in your research, do the private charterers allow someone to bring their dogs aboard, or is that big $$$?




[This message has been edited by se94583 (edited 02-14-2002).]

Delta's charter business is found at http://www.airelite.com

The website describes some common charter aircraft and has photos . . .

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by se94583:
Hey Ken (BTW: still waiting for that invite to the country club down may way for a beer), in your research, do the private charterers allow someone to bring their dogs aboard, or is that big $$$? </font> You're right, I do owe you a Crow Canyon or Black Diamond trip! AS far as the dog question goes, I don't know. It's not something that I've asked about.

Tall Paul, you probably already know this, but that is an EXCELLENT deal for a Challenger. It would even be good for a Lear 35 because of no stand-by fee.

One thing I was surprised to discover when I first started chartering is that some smaller charter companies carry very little liability insurance coverage (my helpful insurance guy insisted I check). He thinks they should have limits of at least $100 million. One I looked at only had $10 million. It wouldn't take much of an accident to go through that, and there is a possibility as the charterer they would come after you (or your company). Perhaps higher limits are also an indication of a better operation also? Anyway, with insurance rates skyrocketing since 9/11, this might be more of an issue. Kind of esoteric, but I think important.

nwchgo,

Your point about insurance is very good. I had not thought about it. I will look into it.

I thought the rate was excellent and the no standby fee is great (we rented a smaller turbo prop and after we considered the standby time, it was cheaper with the Challenger). Even at our rate, it helps the owner cover his fixed costs.