Advantages and Disadvantages of Chartered Flights.

There are a number of advantages associated with flying chartered flights.
One of the main advantages is price. Although fares fluctuate quite a bit
through changing seasons, charters usually cost seventy five dollars less on
average than the lowest round-trip excursion fare on a scheduled airline.
Geared to day-by-day changes in travel patterns, charter fares run slightly
lower on off-days and slightly higher on holiday weekends.
Larger tour operators with many flights to different places sell half
round-trips (one-way tickets) that permit you to fly to one destination and
return from another. Two half round-trips cost only slightly more than one
"whole" round-trip. Other large operators even allow some flexibility for
altering your return trip, although this privilege cannot be counted upon on
every charter. Charters often provide the only nonstop or direct service
overseas from interior cities
With as many advantages as they have, charters also have a few drawbacks,
some of which can be overcome by smart shopping, others require just plain
luck. Charters do not fly everywhere at this time. While many charter
flights take off for Europe or Southeast Asia; few are available to
countries whose governments have protectionist policies toward national or
state-owned airlines. These policies limit competition from chartered
flights by reducing and heavily regulating/fining charter operators. As a
result, few chartered flights travel to the Far East.
Charters have limited and inflexible schedules. Tour operators typically
arrange back-to-back flights on which planes fly into and out of
destinations; for example one flight may fly into a city Saturday morning
and fly out that same afternoon. That would be the only time that particular
flight would visit that specific city. This means that you would have to
wait until Saturday if you wanted to fly into the city or fly out if it on
that charter. You can stay any number of weeks, but you cannot fly within
the week or on any other day.
Another disadvantage associated with flying chartered flights is that
charter passengers must pay for the charter flight weeks, and sometimes even
months in advance. Tour operators will usually sell seats until the last
minute, but typically the most desirable dates fill up early. Also,
passengers who alter or cancel their travel plans are subject to substantial
penalties. This is considered a violation of contract by the charter entity.
However, it must be taken into account that some of the disadvantages of
chartered flights are also advantageous to some people with certain
situations.