If you expect to fly less than 100 hours a year, you can call
a charter operator 24 hours a day and request an aircraft for
a specific mission.
The responsiveness of the operator and the lead time required before take off is defined by your
operator’s policy and, in the case of unavailability of
one of their machines, they should normally be able to provide
you with another one, thanks to their network of partner operators.
Operationally, this option offers you a great level
of flexibility, mainly if your flying pattern is infrequent and
unpredictable. You just book a plane to respond to an immediate
need. The convenience of such a possibility must also be underlined:
the plane is solely dedicated to you only during the time of
the mission.
However, chartering a plane can be troublesome. First,
it is not always easy to find an operator close to your town that
flies the specific aircraft you need in terms of range or passenger
capacity. Second, operators are not all reliable and small ones
offer diverse levels of safety.
Financially, this option can be interesting since
you do not invest in the actual assets and have no cumbersome commitment.
You pay only for what you get per flight (often with booking and
cancellation fees), and your company can deduct these operational
expenses from its Profit Before Tax.
Ultimately, your final costs can be high since the
operator will charge you for his entire flying time, including the
“deadhead” or “empty legs” when the plane
flies empty, for instance to your initial location to pick you up.
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