Misconceptions Regarding Chartered Flights

There are a number of misconceptions regarding chartered planes. The first
being that you need to charter a plane with a large group due to cost
reasons associated with reserving a flight--booking a charter flight for an
individual is not just for the rich anymore. Another fallacy regarding
chartered flights is that you have to purchase the chartered flight with a
costly and disadvantageous packaged bundle, including hotel accommodations,
meals, tours, and the like.
Fortunately that is no longer the case. Since 1987 the Civil Aeronautics
Board has opened chartered flights to the public and permitted a greater
amount of elasticity than had existed before 1987. Competition between
private companies all vying for customers also exists. The competitiveness
leads to an incentive for companies to keep prices low to attract customers.
Now anyone can fly a public charter. You can make air-fare only
arrangements, and need no longer adhere to the schedule of a large group or
the encumbrances and extra cost of a chartered package. You can fly a
chartered flight into one city and choose to make your return trip from a
different city. You can even buy one-way tickets, much as you would with a
traditional scheduled airline company.
The principal difference between chartered and scheduled flights is that
with charters you deal directly not with airline companies but with entities
known as wholesale tour operators. Tour operators charter entire planes or
segments of planes from airlines to fly specific routes at specific times.
They set fares and sell tickets either through their own retail outlets,
through travel agents (the most common form of distribution), or through
discount dealerships.
By not having to pay the cost of maintenance for a plane or for the plane
itself, money is saved by the charter entity and these savings are passed
along to the consumer. Money saved is one of the principal benefits of
booking chartered flights. This is one reason they have become as popular as
they have.