Booking a private jet with us is easy.
First please provide your number of passengers, travel date and routing. Then
we would send you some customized options. Please choose from the available
options and let us know. Finally please arrange the payment so that we would
secure the aircraft for you. Once an aircraft is secured we will send you a
Trip Sheet summarizing details of the flight such as travel date, routing,
flight hours and tail number. Please contact us here and send us your desired travel routing.

A permit or PPR or slots is needed for the private jet to take off or land at the airport. The permit would be issued by the civil aviation authorities to the airline. Aircraft movement is strictly prohibited without a permit/ slot / PPR.

You don’t have to apply for a permit for a private jet charter flight, the airline/operator who operates the aircraft will file for the application. These include VVIP flight and air ambulance flights. Read what does family members need to prepare when it comes to air ambulance flight here.

There are a few situations where the airline/operator would ask you to apply for the permit and these are usually when the permit can only be obtained via diplomatic channelsSee more information about diplomatic channels here.

Despite that you don’t have to apply for a permit for a private jet charter flight, you still have to be alert what is the lead time involved in getting the permit so that you can book the charter flight in advance.

The lead time comes down to permit lead time. Some reference are : Europe and the USA – a minimal 6 hours (working day) . China 3 working days. India 5-7 working days. International routing overflying Russia / India 5-7 working days.

Each private jet is registered with its relevant civil aviation authority with a tail number. The tail number is unique globally and each tail would represent one aircraft only. For example, China Mainland tail number begins with B followed with 4 digit, such as B1234

There are 3 ways of boarding a private jet, details as below:

Via FBO (Fixed Based Operators)

FBO are a standalone facility that is built to allow private jet passengers to go via custom and board the aircraft. Take Hong Kong, for example, the FBO is called HKBAC and it’s located 15 minutes drive from Hong Kong International Terminal. When you arrive HKBAC, your luggage will be arranged onboard by handlers. If the aircraft is fully fueled and prepared, you may board the aircraft immediately and the whole procedure from the time you arrive FBO until when you board the aircraft is usually less than 20 minutes.  This 20 minutes would include time to clear customs and board your luggage.

Plane side boarding

In some 2nd tier city airports in USA and Europe, plane side boarding is availableThis means that your private ground vehicle would be able to drive into Tarmac until you reach the side of the plane. Your luggage would be uploaded directly from the ground vehicle onboard to the aircraft. 

plane side boarding private jet from your own ground vehicle
plane side boarding private jet from your own ground vehicle

Via General Aviation Terminal

In some airports (such as China Chongqing Airport please click here), the FBO established does not serve international flights due to the absence of immigration officers. Thus, when a private jet charter involves international origin/destinations, the boarding would go via General Aviation Terminal. Most of the time,  our ground handlers will be able to arrange a separated custom counter for you to walk via hence you don’t have to queue with other passengers.

Yes, the visa requirements would be the same as commercial airlines when you fly a private jet in most airports with exceptions of two types below:

Visa upon arrival.

If you are looking to go to destinations where a visa upon arrival would be arranged, please inform us this is your plan because in some cases visa upon arrival is not available for private jet arrival.

Visa Wavier Program

If you hold Australian or Singaporean Passports for example, you may enter USA using a electronic visa that maybe applied online called ESTA https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/
However, these Visa Waiver Program is eligible only to airlines/operators that has been registered with USA TSA Department. So please flag us when you have passengers going to USA whom are holding ESTA Visa so that we can check if the airline/operator is eligible for Visa Waiver. 

If you are flying to the USA for example and you hold a Singaporean Passport, in theory you can enter USA using ESTA Visa. However, when you fly a private jet flights to USA, you would further need to verify with us if the tail number /aircrafts you are flying on is already registered with USA Visa Waiver Program. This is because with USA for ESTA Visa to be accepted the aircraft itself has to be registered with USA TSA Department in advance. Thus, it is very important to check with us if you are planning to go to USA using ESTA Visa.

I know these may be difficult for you to imagine, that when you are flying a commercial airline like Emirates, you are not needing a Visa to enter the USA for sure. For us it’s just a case of double-checking everything are in order, read here some common mistakes on booking a private jet relating to Visa.

Please let us know your catering preference at least 48 hours before the flight. It can be difficult sometimes to think of what to have on board because our taste buds change when we are in the air. As a basic principle, let us know your dietary restrictions such as if you are allergic to any ingredients. Please read more about catering order tips here.

When you are flying with a pet please let us know in advance. In these cases, we would arrange a private jet with a pet-friendly policy. With these aircraft, your pets would be able to seat inside passengers cabins next to you. (some cases the crew would ask for the pets to be caged throughout the journey). Read more about Pet Travel Regulations out of Hong Kong here.

USA aircrafts applies a 7.5% tax on gross charter rate

China applies an 11% deductible tax on gross charter rate if you have a China mainland taxation setup. Depending on weather a “Fapiao” is needed, 11% maybe charged on top of contracted price. Please specify to us weather a “Fapiao” is needed when you book a charter flight within China.

Canadian aircrafts applies a GST 5%. 

Australian aircrafts applies a GST of 10% but it’s not applicable if you/ or the charter entity are non-Australian.

The benefit of jetcard is guaranteed availability of aircrafts. With most jetcard providers, you would pay a highly per hour charter rate ( approximately 70-100% higher per hour compare to ad-hoc charter). With the premium fee, you would be offered a guaranteed availability if you book the aircrafts within a minimal of 72 hours notice to airline.

On average if you have more than 4 occasions annually where you would book a private jet with only 72 hours notice, jetcard can save you the hassles of worrying airplane availability and administering payment.

If you are merely looking for a money-for-value option, most of the time the ad-hoc charter would win.

We also recommend existing jetcard customers to compare the spending each trip against ad-hoc charter.

Say if you purchase a jetcard at USD 200k for 20 hours (hence USD10k per hour) for a 6 seaters. For a trip for San Francisco to  Seattle same day return, your jetcard provider will charge you 4 hours hence USD 40k. Then you get a price for adhoc charter from another vendor, and was told the same day return pricing for 6 seaters is USD 30k USD. Thus you save USD 10k to use adhoc charter this time and you can leave the jetcard for next usage.  This way you can enjoy both guaranteed availability and lower spending per trip simultaneously. 

Usually for inter-continental flights of more than 5 hours flight distance, ad-hoc charter generates much more saving than its jetcard counterpart. 

Contact us for jetcard analysis. 

Q: “After buying the jetcard, one day when I when I was on a business trip, the jetcard supplier informed me that there was no available time slot at the airport I needed, and asked me to delay my flight for 6 hours. But that means I will miss my meeting. My friend said it’s because the hourly card supplier did not have enough planes in their fleet, not because there is no available time slot at the airport.”

A: There is uncertainty. The airport’s slot availability cannot be easily verified by public. Due to the usually larger amount of fund involved in the jetcard program, it is recommended to involve your legal and financial teams in the evaluation before purchase. Taking USA  as an example, the ratio of members to planes should not exceed 4:1 (i.e. each plane can serve a maximum of 4 members). For example, if the fleet has 10 planes, it can serve up to 40 members. This can reduce the risk of not getting the desired plane during peak season. After all, if your desired aircraft supply cannot be guaranteed, the investment value of the prepaid amount will decrease.

No, it would not be. The bumpiness is caused by turbulence. Usually, the higher attitude you fly the lower influence is the turbulence. Whether the private jet can fly a higher attitude is solely depending on the routing and Air Traffic Tower Decision. We understand you may worry about the turbulence please let us know your concern, we would try to arrange something on board, or pre-flight to better prepare your flight journey.  

Private Jet Charter is particularly helpful when commercial airline services is not available. Some scenarios are:

  1. Getting out of trouble spots (airline on strike, earthquakes, and disasters, major airports closure)  an example being 2008 when Bangkok International airport was  occupied by UDD protestors, the private jet charter flights continued to operate via Pattaya airport
  2.  When you have a family composing of young infants, elderly, etc. 80% of the private jet charter service goes via a dedicated VIP room or FBO where passengers are separated from commercial airlines. The boarding time needed for a private jet is only 20 minutes compare to 45 minutes needed in commercial airlines. Such saving a lot of hassles for the family travelers.
  3. When you travel from 2nd tier to 2nd tier city where no direct flight available, a private jet would be able to fly direct. Due to private jet ‘s flight routing are customized according to passengers request, this provides a supplementary routing service to commercial airlines. For example, flying from Geneva to Munich is 50 minutes on private jet. However, via commercial airlines, you would have to go via Frankfurt transit which increases the travel hours to 4 hours in total.

The cabotage rule is a restriction that exists to protect the business of local airlines. In practice, a country’s civil aviation department may refuse to grant a permit to a foreign airline to operate domestic flights within the country or to pick up passengers from the country and depart. If such restrictions exist, it means that you are limited to local airlines if you wish to fly domestically in the country or depart from the country on a private jet charter.

Thailand has a very strict cabotage rule. For domestic flights within Thailand, only private jets that are registered with a Thai tail number, which begins with “HS” followed by 3 letters such as “HS-ABC,” can be used. Currently, the largest capacity aircraft registered in Thailand can accommodate up to 14 passengers. Therefore, if you have a group of more than 14 people, you may need to split into 2 aircraft.

Additionally, if you arrive in Thailand from overseas on a non-Thailand aircraft, please note that you would not be able to take additional passengers (such as a tour guide or local friends) when you leave Thailand on the same aircraft. 

If you have a more complicated scenario, please contact us.

Taiwan has a very strict cabotage rule. For domestic flights within Taiwan, only private jets that are registered with a Taiwan tail number, which begins with “B” followed by 5 digits such as “B-12345,” can be used. Currently, the largest capacity aircraft registered in Taiwan can accommodate up to 14 passengers. Therefore, if you have a group of more than 14 people, you may need to split into 2 aircraft.

Additionally, if you arrive in Taiwan from overseas on a non-Taiwan aircraft, please note that you would not be able to take additional passengers (such as a tour guide or local friends) when you leave Taiwan on the same aircraft.

Apparently, if you fly from Taiwan to USA for example, you can only use a Taiwan Registered tail.  For workaround solution please contact us.

Contact us if your question is not covered above

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