Traveling with charter plane services is far more comfortable and convenient than taking a scheduled commercial flight. You can bypass the lengthy TSA line, you don’t have to fly on the schedule the commercial airline offers, you are not crammed into an overcrowded airplane like a herd of cattle, and you can say sayonara to long and uncomfortable layovers on the way.
You probably don’t even consider charter flights as a method of travel because of the increased cost. It is true that using private aircraft charters often runs quite a bit higher than a commercial flight ticket, but if you get creative, you can find inexpensive charter plane services to get you to your destination in style:
- Empty Leg Charter Flights
Sometimes, a pilot books a one-way flight for a client. When they drop them off, they have to fly the plane home, but aren’t getting paid for it. Many charter plane services will offer great discounts if you travel on their empty leg flight. After all, flying you at a fraction of the cost is still making them more money than if they have no passengers. - Filling Idle Time
Sometimes a pilot takes passengers to a destination, and then has to wait three or four days before flying them home. The downtime that the pilot encounters while they wait to take the return trip doesn’t make that money, but they can’t schedule a big trip in the short window. If you can squeeze your flight into their downtime, the pilot may be willing to give you a discount. This trick is a little bit more difficult to pin down since there are a lot of moving pieces in play. Try connecting with charter flight services and asking about downtime flights. Sometimes you can get on a contact list if they have idle time they need to fill. - Group Flights
Most charter flights can support four to eight passengers. If you are the only flyer on the plane, you have to pay 100% of the travel costs. If there are four to eight other passengers, the travel expenses are divided by that number. Perhaps you don’t have 3 to 7 other friends that want to take the same trip as you do. You might be able to connect with other people who are interested in splitting the fair for charter jet services online. Look for social media groups that are specifically designed for this purpose. - Be Flexible
Of course, most of your travel needs have specific locations and time frames that you can’t change. If you don’t have specific requirements, being flexible on both when you take a trip and where you go can get you an incredible deal. Sometimes charter flight operators get last-minute cancellations or find themselves with an empty leg flight that they want to fill quickly. Having the flexibility to take a trip when the opportunity arises will give you the chance to fly in luxury for a fraction of the cost.
Are you a frequent private charter flight flyer? Do you have any other tips to offer for taking a charter flight without breaking the bank? Please share your cheap charter flight tricks with us in the comment section below.
