How to compare private jet charter quotes

To compare private jet charter quotes, first make sure each one prices the same trip in an aircraft that suits it. Then compare the written totals, what each includes, the terms around them and the questions still open. The lowest headline price is not a decision on its own: an option is ready for approval only when its open points have answers in writing.

Make the quotes comparable first

Two offers can only be compared if they describe the same trip. Before looking at the prices, put the itineraries side by side and check:

• the same airports at each end, not a nearby alternative;
• the same dates and local times, with the time zone for each leg;
• the same passengers, bags, pets and special requirements;
• the same number of legs, including any fuel stop.

Treat any gap as a difference to resolve, not as an equivalent offer. A quote into another airport, with a fuel stop the other avoids, or with the aircraft still to be confirmed, is answering a different question. Ask the seller to quote again to your brief, or note the difference in the worksheet. Trips with several stops need the most care; multi-leg private jet charter explains how they are priced.

If you are still writing the brief, the guide for personal and executive assistants lists what to send for a flight. This page picks up once the offers arrive.

The quote comparison worksheet

Below are the fields worth checking, in ten groups, each with the question to put to the seller when the quote doesn’t answer it. The downloadable version adds a column for each of up to three quotes, Option A, B and C, and every cell starts at Confirm. As the written quote and terms answer a field, replace it with what they say:

• For the cost items in group 5, write Included if the quote puts the item in the total, or Extra if it is charged on top, with the amount only if the quote gives one.
• For everything else, write the detail itself, as the quote states it: the airports and times, the aircraft model and tail number, the operator’s name, the date the quote expires, the deposit and cancellation terms.
• Leave Confirm wherever the quote doesn’t answer, and send the seller the question.

Keep every value as written. Don’t add up amounts in different currencies, and don’t add a fixed charge to one that may or may not arise: an unknown cost is not zero. Record the quote reference, the date it arrived and the document it came from, so you can go back to the written offer.

Download the blank worksheet Excel spreadsheet (.xlsx), plain text cells, no formulas or macros, no sign-in

A worked example

Two offers for the same ski weekend, both midsize jets, both with a written total. Neither is ready for approval.

The prices are left out on purpose. Whichever total is lower, the open point could change the decision: a ski bag that doesn’t fit, or a cancellation charge that applies from the day of booking. Send each seller its question and compare again when both have answered.

Broker or operator: who flies you

Many charters are sold by one company and flown by another. The seller, often a broker, arranges the flight. The operating carrier holds the air operator certificate and operates the aircraft. Both should be named on the offer.

In the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority’s guidance on charters and air taxi flights says a paid charter is commercial air transport, not a private arrangement. By law you must be told the name of the operator, and you can check it against the CAA’s list of UK air operator certificates. The CAA also suggests asking for the name and qualifications of the pilot.

For flights in the United States, the NBAA’s charter request for proposals is a useful industry checklist. It asks a broker whether the operator pays it and whose agent it is acting as. Its certificate questions are written for the US FAA system, so treat them as a guide to what to ask, not as UK law.

The worksheet records what each seller tells you. It does not verify safety, legality or insurance, and it does not replace the operational checks the operator and the seller carry out. The written terms of the booking are what bind both sides.

What to weigh besides the price

Aircraft fit. A quote is only as good as the aircraft it names. The seats as fitted, the baggage space with every passenger aboard and the range for the leg without a stop decide whether it suits the trip. Private jets by number of passengers shows which aircraft seat your party comfortably. Private jet cabin layouts and the private jet guide by size and range go further; the executive aircraft charter guide covers selection for principals.

All-in or variable. Some quotes give one figure for the trip; others give an aircraft price with items to follow. Compare them only once the variable items are marked. What changes a charter price explains where two figures for the same route usually part company.

Payment and cancellation. A deposit deadline, a balance date and a cancellation schedule can matter more than a small difference in price, particularly if plans may move. Read them in the agreement itself.

Substitution and availability. Ask whether a different aircraft can be used, how you would be told and whether the price would change. Note what each quote says about how long it is valid and whether the aircraft is held. Both depend on the provider’s written terms; if a quote says nothing about a hold, ask rather than assume one.

Write the approval note

Whoever approves the spend needs one short note, not three quotes. Five lines are enough:

Preferred option: the option and who is selling and operating it
Why it fits: the reason in a sentence, including what it gives up
Total and currency: as written in the quote, with its reference
Outstanding confirmations: anything still waiting for a written answer
Decision needed by: the date and time the quote or the aircraft hold expires

If a confirmation is still outstanding, say so in the note rather than approving around it. The worksheet’s second tab holds the same template.