Why Choose a Charter Broker?
A private broker is your valuable partner in an ever changing charter market. Brokers work with essentially every operator and type of airplane available in the market. Even though there might be a local charter operator near you, the benefit of a broker is they have access to other operators who may be passing through, and, they may be able to provide a better airplane and price.
Why Choose Clear Flight Charters as your broker?
Our President, Jeff Matlock, worked for a charter operator for 14 years and managed a fleet of aircraft and pilots. He understands all the required FAA regulations and rules. Being a pilot himself with almost 8000 hours of flight time, ranging from small Cessna piston planes, to corporate business jets, he fully understands the industry and regulations.
CFC’s business model is completely new to the marketplace. Jeff’s frustration in the past was when a broker would call requesting a quote. He would quote it, however, had he had knowledge that a competitor had a slightly lower price, more than likely, he would have discounted his price to secure the trip. This was how the idea of Clear Flight Charters was born. Transparency.
Many brokerage sites promote “see instant pricing now”. While this is valuable information for the user, it typically is not accurate information. So, what is ‘instant pricing’? Computer programs take operator information and quote a trip based on where their airplane is located. This is how CFC excels in the marketplace. We look for the operators that could provide your trip, then request them to review our current trips and view other operators pricing, this requiring them to reduce their standard pricing.
Charter Terms that are good to know:
Operator. This is the FAA designated company supplying the airplane and pilots.
FAA Part 135 vs Part 91. 135 is designated from the FAA to represent private air charter, i.e. customers renting operators airplanes. Part 91 is for general aviation, i.e. Jim Bob who owns his own plane and flies himself, or a corporation who has their own flight department.
PIC vs SIC. Pilot in Command (Captain) vs Second in Command (Co-pilot).
Roundtrip. Flying from Point A to Point B and back to Point B.
One-Way. Flying from Point A to Point B (however, the operator/plane usually needs to get back to original destination, so price will reflect this cost.
True One-Way. Just like the above, except the operator/plane doesn’t have to return to its original destination.
Empty Leg. When a plane is flying from one point to another with no passengers on board.
Duty Time- The amount of hours in a given day that pilots can work (14 hours).
Duty Rest- The amount of time in-between flights that the pilots must be on rest. Usually 10 hours.
Flight time vs Block Time. Flight time is the actual hours in the air, Block time is the time engines are running (which is what the price is based on)
Mechanical. Unfortunately, this means the plane is currently broken and unable to fly.
FBO. Fixed Base Operator.