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✈️ Starting a private jet charter business

Operator or broker, Part 135 or not, and the empty legs that eat the margin.

What the market is worth

Private jet flights: +3.3% worldwide in 2026 to mid-October against the same weeks of 2025, with fractional programs growing and charter falling through the autumn (WINGX, reported by Private Jet Card Comparisons, October 2026)
Flown empty: ~40% of business-jet flights in Europe are empty legs, by Eurocontrol's estimate (cited by WINGX)
Federal excise tax: 7.5% of the amount paid for domestic charter, plus a segment fee of $5.30 per passenger per takeoff and landing in 2026 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, via NATA)
What the 7.5% is charged on: Flights only a federal appeals court held in May 2026 that it applies to flight charges, not fixed management fees (Sixth Circuit, Flight Options v. United States, via KPMG)
Brokers: Must say so every ad and web page must state that the seller is a broker and not the operator, and the operator must be named before the contract (DOT, 14 CFR Part 295, since 2019)

How it actually grows

Start Broker or operator: decide first

A broker arranges flights on other operators' aircraft and needs no certificate, only DOT's broker disclosures; an operator holds an FAA Part 135 certificate and carries operational control, the pilots, the maintenance program and the liability. Most people start as brokers, or manage an owner's aircraft on someone else's certificate.

Watch out: Selling flights on an aircraft that isn't on a Part 135 certificate. Illegal charter is the fastest way to lose everything, and the passengers may be uninsured.

Years 1–2 Repositioning is the cost

Every one-way trip has a leg home. Pricing that covers the empty leg, selling it as an empty leg, or finding a return passenger is what separates a profitable trip from a busy one.

Watch out: Quoting a one-way trip at half the round-trip price. The return leg burns the same fuel and crew hours.

Years 2–4 Managed aircraft and repeat flyers

Operators grow by managing owners' aircraft and chartering them when the owner isn't flying; brokers grow by turning one-off flyers into jet-card or block-hour clients who pay in advance.

Watch out: Promising owners revenue you can't deliver. Charter income offsets an owner's costs; it rarely covers them.

Years 4+ One type, and the quiet months

A focused fleet, one type with one maintenance program and interchangeable crews, keeps costs predictable. Summer and the holidays are the peaks; the quiet months need corporate shuttles or block contracts.

Watch out: Adding a second aircraft type before the first is full. Each type brings its own pilots, training and parts.

What each revenue stream is good for

Revenue stream	Pays	Scales
On-demand charter The core. Price by flight hour, plus repositioning, fees and taxes.	High per hour	Medium
Jet cards & block hours Clients buy hours in advance at fixed rates. Cash up front; the commitment is yours.	Prepaid	Good
Aircraft management Running an owner's aircraft: crews, maintenance, hangar. Recurring, and it brings aircraft to charter.	Monthly fee	Good
Empty legs Selling the repositioning flight at a discount. Recovers cost that would otherwise be lost.	Discounted	Medium
Catering & ground Billed through at a markup. Small on one trip, steady across them.	Small, high margin	Good
International trips Permits, customs and longer crew duty. More work, more margin.	Highest per trip	Medium

If you're starting this month

Decide whether you are a broker or an operator, and if you broker, say so on your website and in every ad, as DOT requires.
Check every operator you sell: their Part 135 certificate, insurance and safety audit, before the first booking.
Price every one-way trip with its repositioning leg included, and list the empty leg the day you book it.
Collect and remit the 7.5% excise tax and the segment fees on every taxable flight.
Keep a list of repeat flyers and offer them prepaid hours before they ask.

Before you act on any of this

Selling seats or flights on an aircraft not operated under an FAA Part 135 (or Part 121) certificate is illegal charter, and the FAA pursues it; anyone selling or buying a flight should confirm the operator's certificate and insurance. Air charter brokers must follow DOT's rules in 14 CFR Part 295: say plainly that they are brokers, name the operator, and disclose their own insurance. Federal excise tax and segment fees apply to most domestic charter, international flights carry their own taxes and fees, and crew duty, maintenance and drug-testing rules come with the certificate. Aircraft insurance and financing are specialist work. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Run this against real numbers → The same handbook inside the tool, on a worked example you can swap for your own spreadsheet. Free, no account.

Guides for this business

Private jet charter KPIs: revenue per flight hour, empty legs and the taxes in every quote →

The other 33 handbooks

Figures are sourced from published industry research (IBISWorld, trade associations and regulator data) and are stated with their year. They describe typical conditions, not your situation. This is general information for business owners, not financial, tax, or legal advice.