Notes on how charter actually works: which airport, which aircraft, what the price covers, and what to ask before you book.
Teterboro, Westchester County and Republic Airport are the three airports most private jets use out of New York, and they suit different flights. Teterboro is closest to Manhattan and busiest, Westchester has the most room, and Republic is the flexible one. Here is how to pick.
By Jake Lombardi
Guides
Teterboro limits departures by the decibel, not by the clock, and the limit depends on the runway and the hour: 80 dB(A) on Runway 24 between 22:00 and 07:00, 90 dB(A) on Runway 24 by day, 95 dB(A) on Runways 01, 19 and 06 at any hour. Three violations in two years bans the aircraft from the airport. The practical consequence is that a New York departure time is partly a noise decision, and the aircraft on the manifest matters as much as the hour you ask for.
By Jake Lombardi
Airports
In icing conditions a private jet may not take off with frost, ice or snow on it, and the operator needs either a contamination check within five minutes or an approved de-icing programme with a holdover time. That is the rule in 14 CFR 135.227, and it is the reason a New York departure in December can sit on the ramp for forty minutes with the fluid running. Here is how the numbers work, what they cost, and how to protect a connection.
By Jake Lombardi
Operations
The number on a charter quote is the aircraft, the crew and the operator's margin. Underneath it sit three federal taxes and a set of airport charges, and together they are the part of the price nobody negotiates. Here is each one, taken from the statute and the Port Authority's published schedule of charges, and here is what actually moves the price.
By Jake Lombardi
Pricing
There are four ways to buy private aviation and they are four contracts, not four prices. On-demand charter, a jet card, fractional ownership and full ownership differ most in one respect: what happens to your money in the months when the aircraft is not flying. Here is how each one works, what the FAA rules are underneath them, and how to work out which one you are actually buying.
By Jake Lombardi
Guide
Bringing a dog into the United States is governed by 42 CFR 71.51, and the rule is not that dogs are allowed, it is that they have to arrive with the right paperwork, at an authorised airport, with a microchip and a valid rabies vaccination. A dog that has been in a high-risk country within six months must land at an airport with a CDC quarantine station. The paperwork has a lead time of up to four months, and it runs in a fixed order.
By Jake Lombardi
Guide
A one-way charter is not half a round trip, and the reason is the deadhead: the flight the aircraft has to make to collect you, and the flight it has to make to get back. On this office's own route estimates, a one-way to the Caribbean in winter already carries about three-quarters of the price of the round trip, because the aircraft is down there for the season whether or not you are on it. The four things that move the number are where the aircraft sleeps, how long it is away, whether the trip is peak, and whether the flight is sold as a one-way at all.
By Jake Lombardi
Pricing
Articles cover the general case. For a named aircraft, a named operator and one number for your dates, ask Jake directly.
