The
Jet Charter community has developed its own industry-specific business and technical
terminology that may be unfamiliar to newcomers. The Jet Charter Guide has prepared
this brief list of terms that a user of Jet Charter is likely to encounter in
conversation with charter professionals, in publications and websites.
airway
distance: The actual (as opposed to straight line) distance flown by the aircraft
between two points, after deviations required by air traffic control and navigation
along established routes. The difference between this and straight line distance
will vary throughout the country. Average figures would be between 5–9%.
amphibious
floats: FLOATS or "pontoons" equipped with retractable wheels that
permit the aircraft to operate from paved airports.
ARO:
Airport reservation office. Staffed by the FAA, this entity allocates landing
and take-off reservations for unscheduled aircraft in and out of the following
airports: JFK, LGA, EWR, DCA, ORD (see airport identifier listings for codes).
Since these allocations are scarce and granted 48 hours in advance on a first-come-first-served
basis, travel to these five airports may be difficult by charter.
block
rates: A lower "contract rate" for scheduling significant amounts
of charter time in advance on a pre-arranged agreement.
block
speed: The average speed over a specific distance "block-to block",
or door-to-door with respect to the airport gate.
broker
margin: The difference between the flight charges assessed by the charter
operator and the flight charges assessed by the charter broker.
certificate:
FAA-issued license (in this context sometimes referred to as ticket, part 135
license, etc.) to carry passengers for hire.
charter
broker: A company or individual that buys charter at wholesale and resells
it at retail. The broker is responsible for payment to the charter provider, for
assessing end-user taxes and fees, and for ensuring their customer's safety and
satisfaction. A charter operator may act as a broker to provide supplemental lift
to their customer.
charter operator: A company or
individual that holds aircraft charter certificates and provides charter services
to retail and wholesale customers.
commuter operator:
A regional, scheduled airline. In this book limited to that operator with adequate
fleet capacity as to be available of charter. Not all commuter airlines charter,
because of the limitations of aircraft and crew availability.
corporate
operator: A company flight department that has earned a part 135 certificate
to carry passengers for compensation.
cruise speed:
The aircraft speeds shown in the Aircraft Listings in this directory. Cruise speed
is the normal speed attained at altitude once the aircraft is no longer climbing
and is en route.
D-085: Page 85, section D, of an
operator's federally mandated Operations Manual. This certified page lists all
aircraft that the operator may legally offer for charter.
deadhead:
Originally a noun, now a verb meaning to fly the return leg of a trip without
cargo or passengers. Originally coined during the infancy of the major airlines,
the term was pejoratively applied to company employees or spouses, who were strapped
into otherwise empty seats to give the appearance of high business volume.
duty
time: That portion of the day when a crew member is on duty in any capacity
(not just in the air). This can be a constraint on long day-trips, as there are
FAA-imposed limits on the amount of time allowed on duty. Many charter operators
have stricter rules, so it pays to inquire before planning a trip too tight to
the limit.
empty leg: Also known as "one-way
availability". Since charter trips typically charge for the round trip travel
of the aircraft, empty legs can often represent relative bargains. These are usually
posted as available for travel between two airports during a certain time period.
Exporter:
Refers to any program designed to export availability data from an operator's
scheduling software to the availability calendar on the Industry Exchange.
FBO:
Fixed-base operator, which represents a large majority of the Jet Charter industry.
By definition at a permanent location, this is a vendor of services, maintenance,
fuel, flight instruction, and aircraft sales, in addition to charter.
fleet
manager: A commercial aviation entity developed to subcontract the maintenance
and operation of corporate aircraft, which are often chartered out to the general
public.
flight time: That portion of the trip actually
spent in the air. For billing purposes this definition is generally strict and
only applies from moment of lift-off to moment of touch-down.
floats:
Pontoons, or flotation devices, that enable an airplane (or helicopter) to
land on water.
GUID: Global Unique Identifier.
Refers to the alpha-numeric code assigned to each CharterX member's account on
the Industry Exchange. This code allows an XQuote session initiated from a member's
site to link to the appropriate data.
GADO: General
Aviation District Office of the FAA. As the most local branch of the FAA, also
the entity most likely to know the specific history of a charter operator.
general
aviation: That portion of aviation other than military or commercial scheduled
operations. Commercial unscheduled operations, corporate flight operations, and
private aviation are the most conspicuous members of this group. Most major metropolitan
airports tend to have a separate "general aviation" terminal, where
a chartered flight is likely to depart or arrive.
great
circle distance: The shortest distance between two points on a globe. All
distances shown in distance tables in the Jet Charter Guide are "great circle
distance".
IFR: Instrument Flight Rules (flight
in clouds).
ILS: Instrument Landing System. Low-level
approach equipment at certain airports. In The Jet Charter Guide, airports with
ILS systems are indicated in bold face type in the airport listings. Though instrument
approaches and departures can be made in airports without an ILS, its presence
is a material benefit to the travel planner because an instrument landing system
improves trip reliability as closely as possible to the level of scheduled airlines,
which generally fly from airports with these facilities.
independent operator:
A charter operator that does not meet the definition of FBO or commuter, but may
not be involved in contract management of aircraft. The larger independent operators,
however, are very close to the fleet manager in business approach.
layover:
A night spent in the middle of the trip in a city other than home base for the
aircraft and crew.
leg: Describes one direction
of travel between two points. Commonly used in referring to a planned itinerary,
it may not indicate all landings such as fuel stops.
lift:
Any aircraft engaged for transport.
medevac: Medical
evacuation (usually emergency) seen in this book as a service of many helicopter
companies.
net/net: The quote format that applies
wholesale rates and does not include taxes or other end-user assed fees. Also
known as a wholesale quote.
Part 91: The set of
federal regulations that govern private aircraft use.
Part
135: The set of federal regulations that govern the commercial hire of jets.
positioning:
Ferrying aircraft for departure from other than originating airport. (Also for
return.)
positioning time: Time estimated for an
aircraft to travel to the trip departure position.
propjet:
A propeller driven airplane, in which the engine is a jet turbine rather than
piston driven.
Qualified Volume Buyer, also QVB:
Recognized company or individual with a large demand for charter. Subscriptions
are available for QVBs to use an adapted version of the CharterX features that
allows them to manage internal requests for charter and to focus their use of
preferred vendors.
ramp: The apron or open "tarmac"
in form of an FBO or terminal facility. This space is busy, used for deplanement,
parking of aircraft, etc. Some facilities will permit automobiles to drive to
the aircraft on the ramp, a feature of real benefit to the traveler with heavy
or bulky luggage.
repositioning time: Time estimated
for an aircraft to return to its based position after completion of a passenger
segment.
retail customer: Also known as the “end
user”. This customer purchases charter for their own use and is assessed
Federal Excise Tax (FET) and segment fees as applicable. Unless they have made
special arrangements with a particular operator, they are usually quoted the market
rate.
retail quote: Quote provided to retail customer
including taxes and end-user assessed fees.
segment:
Describes the unit of flight between take-off and landing. Sometimes used interchangeably
with the term leg.
stage length: Distance of itinerary
non-stop leg.
taxi time: That portion of the trip
spent rolling between the gate, terminal, or RAMP and runway.
VFR:
Visual Flight Rules (flight out of clouds).
waiting
time: That time that the chartered aircraft and crew must wait on the ground
during any portion of the trip.
wholesale buyer:
charter broker or charter operator that you allow to represent your aircraft to
their customers.
wholesale quote: Quote provided
to a wholesale buyer for the purpose of resale. Applies wholesale rates and does
not include taxes or end-user assessed fees. Also known as a net/net quote.
wholesale
rates: Discounted hourly rates offered to wholesale buyers for purpose of
resale. Industry average is a 5% discount but the rate varies according to agreements
between individual charter operators and charter brokers.
