Straight answers about chartering

Because you deal with one person who has actually done this, and you can see what he charges. Larger brokerages carry sales floors, offices and marketing budgets, and all of that has to come out of the margin on your trip — a margin you are not shown. YAJ Jet Charter is deliberately small. The person who quotes your trip is the person who verifies the operator, signs the charter agreement on your behalf, sends your departure details, and answers the phone when something moves.

Jay Lasco, directly, every time. No account manager, no call center, no handoff. Jay is an FAA-certificated private pilot and has been arranging charter for more than a decade — for businesses, for friends, and for his own family with his own family on board. He also runs two Michigan businesses, which is to say this is not a first venture and you can check who you are dealing with before you send anyone money.

It means an operator cannot manage you with jargon. Hundreds of hours in the left seat does not make anyone a charter pilot, and we do not claim otherwise. What it does mean is having filed the flight plans, talked to controllers, watched weather turn a straightforward trip into a different one, and waited at an FBO for slow fuel. So when an operator says the crew is running out of duty time, or the winds mean a fuel stop, or the runway at your preferred airport is marginal for that aircraft, we know whether that is real.

No. There is nothing to join, no annual dues, no deposit sitting with anyone, and no tier of inventory held back because you did not buy in. Fly once in five years or six times a year — the fee schedule is the same, and there is nothing to cancel if you never fly again.

Source options from certificated operators whose aircraft suit the mission. Verify the carrier holds the economic authority the DOT requires and the safety authority the FAA requires, that the flight falls inside its authorised operations, and that the specific aircraft is on its certificate. Obtain the insurance certificate and report its limits. Check third-party safety audit standing and record it as it actually stands. Present the operator price and the fee as two separate figures. Then contract the flight on your behalf, and stay with it until you land.

On a published sliding scale applied to the operator’s charter price: 8 to 12% on trips under $20,000 depending on the work involved, 7% from $20,000 to $50,000, and 5% above that, with a minimum of $850 per trip. The rate is lower on larger trips because a small charter takes the same hours as a large one, and sometimes more.

Because the work varies. A short-notice single leg with four operators to chase, a short runway to work around and catering to sort is real work. A straightforward booking on a route we know is not. You will be told where in that band your trip sits, and why, before you commit to anything.

No. The operator’s price is exactly what the operator quoted, shown on its own line. The advisory fee sits beside it. We also take no commission, rebate or referral payment from any carrier, and that is written into the agreement you sign. If any such payment were ever received it would be disclosed and credited in full against the fee.

It depends far more on the aircraft and the routing than on the distance. As a rough guide, a light jet between the Midwest and Florida typically runs in the low tens of thousands, a midsize somewhat more, and a heavy jet considerably more again. What moves the number most is where the aircraft is based: if it has to fly empty to reach you and empty to get home, those positioning legs are in your price. Hourly rates by aircraft size and ballpark prices for common Michigan trips are on the private jet cost page. For your own trip, ask for a real quote rather than working from a table.

Send the city pair, the dates and how many are traveling and you will get options back with the operator named, the aircraft type, the insurance limits and the all-in cost. Realistic turnaround depends on the operators being reachable rather than on us — a straightforward weekday trip is usually same day, a short-notice or unusual routing can take longer. If the trip is time-critical, say so in the first line and call rather than email.

Sometimes, and you will be told which before you sign. The operator price includes estimates of certain costs. Actual taxes, landing and ramp charges, catering, ground transport, customs fees, de-icing and crew expenses can exceed the estimate, and those are billed by the carrier after the flight. The advisory fee does not change as a result — it is calculated once, on the price quoted to you.

Wire or ACH. Wire is required where the carrier’s deadline falls inside ACH settlement time, which is most short-notice trips. Card payment is available by prior arrangement and carries a processing surcharge, stated up front, which is the cost of processing rather than additional compensation. Our banking details are issued once and never change — if you ever receive an email appearing to alter them, it is fraudulent, and you should call us.

An FAA-certificated Part 135 air carrier. YAJ Jet Charter is an air charter broker — it is not a direct air carrier, owns and operates no aircraft, and holds no operational control. The carrier holds operational control and is responsible for the aircraft, the crew and every decision about the flight.

Yes, always, and before you sign anything. The operating carrier’s legal name, any other names it trades under, its certificate details and its insurance limits all appear on your trip confirmation. Some brokers withhold this until the itinerary arrives. We do not.

Certificate verified as current, and the specific aircraft confirmed to be on that carrier’s operations specification. Flight confirmed to fall inside what the carrier is authorised to do. Insurance certificate obtained and limits reported. Third-party safety audit standing — ARGUS, WYVERN, IS-BAO — checked and recorded exactly as it stands, never inferred, and reported plainly when an operator holds none. Anything an operator will not confirm is passed on to you as unconfirmed rather than left out. And a standing list of operators we will not use, because vetting only counts if you are willing to act on it.

The operating carrier holds the liability insurance covering passengers, baggage and the aircraft, and its limits are given to you in writing before you sign. YAJ Jet Charter does not itself hold liability insurance covering charterers or passengers, and says so plainly rather than leaving you to assume. On request, and at no cost, we will ask the carrier to name you as an additional insured on its policy for the flight. Whether it does, and how quickly, is the carrier’s decision and its insurer’s.

No, and that is deliberate. A published minimum is only worth something if it is never waived, and on a real trip the aircraft that fits your mission, your dates and your budget will sometimes come from an operator carrying lower limits or holding no third-party rating. So instead of a number we would quietly break, you get the actual figure, the actual audit standing, and my view on it in writing before you decide. Four things are absolute and are never waived: a valid Part 135 certificate, the specific aircraft on that certificate, insurance in force for your dates, and a trip that is legal as planned. Below those, you choose with the facts in front of you.

A flight sold as commercial charter but operated outside a Part 135 certificate. It is illegal, the insurance position is usually worthless, and it is the single biggest risk in this industry for an uninformed buyer. The defense is simple: know the operator’s name and certificate before you pay. If a price looks far below everything else, that is usually why.

Seats are the easy part; luggage is where trips go wrong. A Citation XLS+ carries about 90 cubic feet, roughly ten full-size bags, while a Hawker 800XP has the same eight seats and about half the hold. A Phenom 300 takes six sets of golf clubs; a Citation M2 will manage one or two at most, because hold shape matters as much as volume. Tell us what you are actually carrying — clubs, skis, hard cases, a stroller — and the aircraft gets chosen around it rather than around the seat count. The aircraft guide sets out the baggage numbers side by side.

Four things decide it: how many people, how far, what runway is available at both ends, and what luggage is coming. Distance alone is the weakest of the four. A light jet such as a Phenom 300 or Citation CJ4 covers most Midwest-to-Florida work for six or seven people. A midsize like a Citation XLS+ adds cabin and a much larger hold. Super-midsize and above buys nonstop transcontinental range and a cabin you can stand up in. Tell us the mission and the aircraft gets chosen around it rather than sold to you. There is a full comparison in the guide to the best private jet for 6 to 8 passengers.

Not through us. On-demand charter is whole-aircraft — you charter the aircraft and decide who is on it. Per-seat private flying exists, but it sits under different regulations and different operators, and it is a different product with fixed schedules and fixed routes. If that is what you want, we will say so rather than trying to reshape your trip into something we can sell you.

Turboprops yes, routinely — a King Air or PC-12 is often the right answer for shorter legs or a short runway, and a PC-12 gets into fields no jet will touch. Helicopters can be arranged through operators who hold the right certificate, though they are not the focus here. Ask, and you will get a straight answer about whether we are the right person for it.

Usually, but it depends on the aircraft’s baggage door and compartment shape rather than its cubic feet. Soft travel covers load far better than hard cases, particularly on light and midsize jets where the hold is squeezed into the airframe. Say what you are bringing at the quote stage and it will not be a problem on the day. The aircraft guide explains which cabins take clubs and which cannot, whatever their cubic feet.

Yes, and you should say so at the quote stage if it matters to you. Be aware that year of manufacture tells you less than people assume — a well-maintained 2001 airframe refurbished in 2020 can be a better aircraft than a neglected newer one, and the operator’s maintenance culture matters more than either. Ask for both the year built and the year last refurbished. Both will be on your quote.

Where the operator provides them, yes — of that tail, not a stock image of the type. This is worth asking any broker, because generic marketing photography is endemic in this industry and a cabin photo of a different airframe tells you nothing about the one you are boarding. If only stock imagery exists for a particular aircraft, you will be told that rather than left to assume.

Two on every jet we arrange. Some light aircraft can legally be flown single-pilot, and we do not book them that way for passenger charter. Crew experience and currency appropriate to the airport, the aircraft and the conditions is part of what gets checked before an option reaches you.

Usually yes, and generally in the cabin. Policies vary by operator and a few decline pets outright, so it is confirmed before booking rather than assumed.

Arranged by the operator through the FBO or a specialist caterer, usually 24 to 48 hours ahead, and billed at cost. Most aircraft carry water, soft drinks and light snacks as standard. Tell us preferences and allergies in writing so there is a record of exactly what was passed on.

Sometimes, and you will get a straight answer within the hour rather than a maybe. What decides it is what is within positioning range, whether a crew is legal to fly it, and whether funds can reach the operator before their deadline — which on same-day trips means a wire, not ACH. Call rather than email if the clock is running. If it cannot be done we will say so quickly, because a slow no is worse than a fast one when you are stranded.

Enough to give you a real choice, not a wall of options to wade through. Typically three to five that genuinely suit the mission, each one verified before it reaches you rather than forwarded on and checked later. A list of twenty unfiltered quotes is easy to produce and puts the work of sorting them back on you.

More notice means more aircraft to choose from and better pricing. That said, short-notice trips are routine in charter — the constraint is usually what is within positioning range and which crews are legal, not whether it is possible. Ask, and you will get a straight answer about whether it is realistic.

When a charter finishes, the aircraft usually has to fly home empty and the operator pays for it either way. Selling that leg to someone traveling the same direction suits everyone, and discounts commonly run 30 to 60% below the equivalent charter. The trade is flexibility: the route and the window are set by someone else’s trip, and if that trip moves or cancels, yours moves with it. Empty legs suit travelers who can shift a day or drive an hour to a different airport.

Yes. Tell us where you want to go and roughly when, and we will raise it with operators whose aircraft move that way. If something comes up you hear from us. If nothing does, you hear nothing. No list, no newsletter, no obligation.

Delays, diversions, cancellations and aircraft substitutions are decisions of the operating carrier, made under its agreement with you and, where relevant, in the interests of safety. We pass on information as soon as we have it and source alternatives where we can. Where the aircraft or the carrier changes, the disclosures are reissued before you fly, and you keep the right to cancel and be refunded if that notice comes too late.

Set by the operating carrier and passed on without alteration. They vary between operators and typically increase as departure approaches, sometimes reaching the full contract price within a week of the flight. They are summarised on your trip confirmation before you sign, rather than buried in terms you would have to go looking for.

You get a confirmation with the operating carrier, the aircraft and tail number, the departure FBO at both ends, and the timings. Closer to the day you get the crew details and anything that has moved. Catering and ground transport get sorted in that window too. If something changes — an aircraft swap, a timing shift — you hear it from us as soon as we hear it, not when you arrive.

Usually 15 to 20 minutes before departure. Park at the FBO, walk through a private terminal, and board. There is no security line for domestic flights, though photo identification is still required for every passenger.

You drive to the FBO rather than the main terminal — a separate building, usually with its own entrance off a different road, and you will be told exactly which one and where to park. Someone at the desk is expecting you by name. Bags go straight to the aircraft. In most cases you walk out to the aircraft within a few minutes of arriving. If a car has been arranged, it drops you at the same door.

State or federally issued photo identification for everyone, domestic or international. Passports and any required visas for international travel. A passenger list with full names and dates of birth goes to the operator ahead of departure, usually at least 72 hours out.

Usually, subject to two things: a seat being available, and the aircraft’s weight and balance for that leg. The second one catches people out — an aircraft near its limit on fuel may not take another person and their bag. Tell us as early as you can and it is nearly always fine. Their details still have to go to the operator before departure.

Often possible and often free, but it depends on the crew’s duty day, the aircraft’s next commitment and slot availability at either airport. A couple of hours earlier or later on the same day is usually straightforward. A change that pushes the crew past their legal limit is not, at any price. Ask as soon as you know rather than at the FBO.

Yes. Private charter changes where it happens, not whether. Arrivals into the US clear at an airport with customs facilities, often at the FBO itself rather than in a terminal queue, and it is typically much quicker. Passports, visas and advance passenger information are all still required, and the operator files what needs filing.

Often, and it is one of the real advantages of charter. The constraint is runway length and the aircraft’s performance on the day. Some airports also require prior permission. Give us the destination you actually want rather than the big airport nearby, and we will tell you what can get in there.

For most of Southeast Michigan, Oakland County International at Pontiac (PTK) is the default — it is the region’s main business aviation airport, with multiple FBOs and a runway long enough for anything up to a heavy jet. Willow Run (YIP) near Ypsilanti and Detroit Metro (DTW) both take charter, and Bishop International at Flint (FNT) suits anyone north or west of the metro. Ann Arbor (ARB) works for smaller aircraft but its runway rules out most jets. The right answer is usually whichever is closest to your door, because the drive is the part of the journey you actually feel. There is more in the guides to chartering from Pontiac, Willow Run and Flint.

In the air, barely — a midsize jet cruises at close to airline speeds. The time is saved on the ground: no two-hour check-in, no security line, no connection, no bag carousel, and an airport nearer where you are actually going. Door to door it usually comes to two to three hours each way on a nonstop trip, and more when the airline trip connects. Every step is compared, with a calculator for your own trip, in private jet vs commercial: how much time you save.

Yes, through the FBO, billed at cost with no markup. Same for catering and anything else arranged on your behalf.