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.
