Guide
Putting your jet on a charter certificate: what changes
Updated
Owners are usually sold this as a revenue line. It is better understood as a change of regulatory status that happens to produce revenue.
The line the regulation draws
14 CFR 119.1 applies to each person operating or intending to operate civil aircraft as an air carrier or commercial operator in air commerce, and, where noncommon carriage is involved except as provided in 91.501(b), or in private carriage for compensation or hire, to US-registered aeroplanes with fewer than 20 passenger seats and a payload capacity under 6,000 pounds. Part 119 prescribes the certification requirements an operator must meet to obtain a certificate authorising operations under part 121, 125 or 135.
In practice that means an owned aircraft made available for third-party charter is added to a certificated operator's operations specifications and flies as a part 135 aircraft on those trips, under that operator's manuals, maintenance programme and crew requirements.
What you give up
- Operational control on charter flights sits with the certificate holder, not with you. That is the point of certification and it is not negotiable by contract.
- Schedule priority. Owner trips at short notice can collide with a booked charter, and how that is resolved is a term in your management agreement worth reading very carefully.
- Airframe hours and cycles accumulate on somebody else's flying, which affects maintenance timing and your resale position.
- Maintenance and inspection requirements change: commercial operation brings the operator's programme, which is generally more demanding than a private one.
- Insurance: commercial use is a different risk and is priced as one. Get the quote before you commit, not after.
The part 91 arrangements that are not charter
14 CFR 91.501(b) lists operations that may be conducted under part 91 subpart F instead of parts 121, 129, 135 and 137 when common carriage is not involved. These are frequently confused with charter and they are not the same thing.
| Arrangement | What it is | What may be charged |
|---|---|---|
| Time sharing | A person leases their airplane with flight crew to another person | Only the expenses listed in 91.501(d) |
| Interchange | A person leases their airplane in exchange for equal time on another person's airplane when needed | No charge except one not exceeding the difference between the cost of owning, operating and maintaining the two airplanes |
| Joint ownership | One registered joint owner employs and furnishes the flight crew; each joint owner pays a share of the charge specified in the agreement | The share specified in the agreement |
| Company carriage | Officials, employees, guests and property of a company, within the scope of and incidental to the company's business | No charge in excess of the cost of owning, operating and maintaining the airplane, and no charge at all for a guest outside the company's business |
The expenses recoverable under 91.501(d) are a closed list: fuel, oil, lubricants and other additives; crew travel expenses including food, lodging and ground transportation; hangar and tie-down costs away from base; insurance obtained for the specific flight; landing fees, airport taxes and similar assessments; customs, foreign permit and similar fees directly related to the flight; in-flight food and beverages; passenger ground transportation; flight planning and weather contract services; and an additional charge equal to 100 percent of the fuel, oil, lubricants and additives.
The United Kingdom position
UK Air Operations Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 Part-NCC applies to non-commercial flights in complex motor-powered aircraft. Rather than holding an AOC, the operator submits a declaration to the CAA covering aircraft type, operational and continuing airworthiness arrangements and approvals held, completed by the accountable manager (CAA). Commercial air transport is a different regime requiring an AOC, so the UK equivalent of the charter certificate question is whether the aircraft moves from a declared non-commercial operation to an AOC holder's fleet.
This page describes the regulatory shape, not your specific case. Whether an arrangement is common carriage, private carriage or a genuine part 91 operation is a legal question with serious consequences, and it is answered by aviation counsel, not by a website.