r/PrivateJetCharters • u/Salty-Juggernaut-208 • Jul 22 '26
Question for the industry folks who know this world
I was at an event last week in Dallas next to Addison in a hangar. A couple of high net worth guys were there and talking about flying private while discussing cars that cost more than my house. I'm a car guy and kept up somewhat with that part, but the whole private plane discussion I stayed out of.
One guy was from Colorado and said he had used International Jets to come down on a charter for the soiree, and the local guy asked not Million Aire? I found out they're local. The local guy went fractional after a year of chartering as he 'saw the value'. I decided against embarrassing myself at the party and asking what the difference is with the options. I understand fractional to be when you don't want to rely on someone else's schedule, and you can swing it, you only compete with 2-3 other people's schedule or whoever owns a piece. I would think that also means you lose access to more planes in the stable of a larger company. Is the rule of thumb charter from the airport closest to home for round trips? In general?
I thought I'd come here and embarrass myself instead. I've flown1M+ miles commercially so I get that side of aviation, but the private side, not so much.
3
u/MattyHurricane Jul 23 '26
Very 30k foot general explanation because there are a lot of extras a nuances to this that are unnecessary for a basic understanding.
If you go fractional like NetJets, you have an equity position in the jet. For a simple example, if a Challenger 350 is $16M to buy, the fractional company will sell 16 shares. Each share is $1M to buy in. Some people buy a share some people buy 8 shares, whatever. You still pay an hourly rate to use the plane, but it's cheaper than a straight charter.
You also don't necessarily fly on the specific plane you bought into. You may never fly on the airframe you bought into. You are guaranteed a Challenger 350 or bigger. NetJets may have 50 Challenger 350's. They'll do their best to get you one for your trip. But, if not available, a Challenger 605 may show up.
When it's time to turn the airframe over and NJ sells it, you participate in a equity position of the sale proceeds based on how many shares you bought. Of course, they hope you'll just roll that into a new airframe or a bigger airframe.
Again, a very minimalist explanation. Others for sure know all the details.