The Recovery Process of Jet Charter

What happens when a pilot gets sick or an aircraft has a flat tire? The recovery process for a jet charter aircraft can be unfortunate situation that everyone wants to avoid. However, it is important to understand the role and abilities of the operator or charter consultant to know who has your best interest in mind. Although Jet Cards, Fractions and other bulk-charter programs often claim a guaranteed back-up, the heightened demand has decreased the ability to successfully recover a flight in a short timeline (say 1-2 hours). The main aspects to be conscious of are: 1) How quickly can a back-up plane be made available? 2) Is there an increase in cost for a recovery aircraft if the charter cost is increased? 3) What is the priority of your flight compared to other aircraft movements that day?
1- Guarantees on timing for a replacement jet should never be taken at face value. Machines, people, weather and a range of other variables make predicting locations of back-up aircraft and availability extremely challenging. One benefit to working with a charter consultant is that their range of aircraft operators may be wider than a company trying to keep the booked trip on their own fleet of aircraft. Typical back-up time we have seen is roughly four to five hours. However, that is often in a high-traffic location (VNY, TEB, etc.) and requires a bit of luck. Communication is key and something that The PJC prides itself on making sure as much information as able is passed onto the client to then make a decision related to their trip.
2- Cost increases occur more often on charter than jet card or fraction providers purely for the sake of the reduction in cost that is experienced on most flights. You do not overpay for charter, as you do a guaranteed rate, on an hourly basis. However, a back-up is susceptible to the market and may demand a cost increase. Again, working with a charter  consultant who is willing to share in the expense and make sure that a range of solutions is provided is key to finding success financially on a charter recovery.
3- Are you the single priority for the day, or are you one trip on a long sheet of other flights for the day? A key benefit to working with a focused, smaller charter consultant is the level of detail and effort dedicated to your flight. Trust in who you work with and their ability to outwork and be creative on back-up charter solutions is often a key advantage as you are waiting for good news on maintaining your itinerary as close as possible.

If you have any questions or want to learn more about this process, please reach out to sales@thepjc.com or reach us at any of our national locations via phone.