Rick Colson
Author: Rick Colson, Founder – New Flight Charters
Last Updated: September 2026
Rick Colson has more than 20 years of experience arranging private jet charter flights worldwide.
One of the most important things to understand about private jet charter is that there is no fixed stable of aircraft waiting for a traveler to select from.
Private charter is a live availability business. An aircraft that is well positioned and practical when quoted this morning may be committed elsewhere by the afternoon. Another aircraft may get scheduled for a flight nearby and suddenly become an excellent option. The flight route has not changed, but the marketplace around it has and remains in continual flux.
After more than twenty years arranging private aircraft, I have learned that availability is often the hidden variable behind both the options a client sees and the price attached to them. Understanding availability and the changing market makes charter decisions clearer and helps explain why experienced guidance matters more than ever.
How Are Charter Brokers Different from Charter Operators – and Why Do Some Brokers Have Access to More Aircraft?
When looking at charter aircraft availability, it is fundamental to understand the two main categories in private jet charter: brokers and operators. They are fundamentally different, yet they work together in their respective specialties to take care of clients on each flight.
Operators manage a specific fleet of tail numbers at a home base or a “floating fleet” of specific aircraft scheduled on one-way flights around the continent, periodically visiting a home base or service center for maintenance. Operators manage the aircraft, maintenance, crew staffing and training, scheduling, and flight operations. These on-demand operations are conducted under FAA Part 135 regulations; scheduled airlines operate separately under Part 121.
Brokers serve their clients in a complex industry, sourcing and providing the best options based on the mission, the client’s personal standards, passenger count, routing, airports, and more. They are not simply a “middleman.” Typically, they represent their client in the charter market, a standard market consisting of buyers and sellers.
A few brokers, as part of their role, may represent an operator or specific aircraft on the selling side. Some brokers may also act as resellers, buying a charter from an operator and reselling it to their client. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations for air charter brokers are primarily outlined in 14 CFR Part 295, which sets strict rules for transparency, consumer protection, and advertising.
There is no aviation-specific professional license, education requirement, or experience threshold required to enter the air charter brokerage business. However, brokers must comply with applicable DOT regulations, including Part 295. Brokers therefore span a wide spectrum of ability, experience, and service level. This is a good topic for another discussion.
An established, long-term expert broker can be invaluable in the vast U.S. charter industry, managing individual trips with numerous changing operational variables and keeping flights easy and seamless for the client. It is a high-end, specialized level of professional service. In the same way, most high-net-worth private fliers also have specialists who manage their finances, insurance, legal issues, and more.
Charter Aircraft Availability is Fluid, Updating Continuously
An aircraft offered for charter is part of an active operating schedule. It may be carrying passengers, repositioning for its next trip, undergoing an inspection, waiting for a crew, or returning to its home base.
That means access to a large network or the entire industry is only the beginning. The real work is identifying which aircraft best fit the client and mission at hand.
A listing or database or search platform can show that an aircraft exists. It does not, by itself, establish that the aircraft is genuinely available for the trip in front of us. The same applies to a charter app or automated online quote that may advertise something like “confirmed availability” or “book now.”
Where the Aircraft Is and Its Existing Schedule Matter
The location of the aircraft at the start of the trip can materially affect both suitability and cost. Any needed movement of the aircraft to the departure airport is considered in the economics and timing of the charter.
An aircraft located close to departure may appear to be the obvious choice, but proximity is not the only factor. Its previous trip, next commitment, crew location and airport access may all influence whether it is truly the best option.
This is why two similar aircraft can produce very different proposals for the same route. The difference is often not the aircraft model; it is the position and schedule surrounding that aircraft.
Availability Can Change in Hours
Charter requests do not sit in isolation. Operators are continuously confirming trips, adjusting schedules and responding to changing conditions. A strong option can disappear when another client commits, while a new option may emerge as an aircraft’s schedule develops.
This does not mean a traveler should feel pressured into a decision. It does mean that a charter proposal should be understood as a current operating opportunity rather than a permanent catalog price. If the client is comfortable with a particular aircraft option and ready to book, they should not delay in securing it. The more time that passes, the greater the chance that something will change and the aircraft or quote will become unavailable.
When dates, times and airports are firm, timely decisions become more important. When flexibility exists, it can sometimes create better choices. For example, when a flight need is flexible over two or three days, more and potentially better options can be available.
Crew, Maintenance and Operational Scheduling Matter Too
An available aircraft also requires a legal and practical operating plan. Crew assignment, duty and rest considerations, scheduled maintenance, airport operating hours and the trips immediately before and after the requested flight all have to work together.
These details may be invisible to the passenger, but they are fundamental. An actual quote or recommendation is not simply an aircraft with an open calendar entry. It is an aircraft, crew and schedule that can reliably support the requested flight and mission.
Peak Travel Periods Call for Special Planning
During major events, holidays and seasonal travel periods, demand for aircraft escalates. The best available aircraft are often committed first. A well-connected broker can often continue searching beyond the immediately positioned market, but bringing an airplane in from a distance will add cost to the quotes.
During peak periods, such as the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, nearly every charter aircraft in popular areas of the country may fly each day. Pricing and cancellation terms reflect this market demand, and charters during these periods may be non-cancelable upon booking or subject to substantially stricter cancellation terms.
The Lowest Quote Is Not Always the Best Option
A lower price can be the result of aircraft location or taking advantage of fitting into an existing schedule, and when the operating factors are a good fit, that can represent excellent value. But price alone does not make an option better.
The operator, aircraft model, dispatch reliability – the likelihood of a maintenance delay or cancellation – and other factors can make one available option a better choice for the mission. Look for your broker to recommend the best overall fits for a trip and explain why. The bargain-basement price is not necessarily the best choice.
What an Experienced Charter Professional Is Doing Behind the Scenes
When we review availability, we are doing more than evaluating prices. We are comparing aircraft capability, dispatch reliability, cabin and baggage requirements, operator information and reputation, aircraft location, crew and schedule feasibility, and airport considerations with the goal of an optimal fit and seamless travel.
We are also looking for the questions a client may not know to ask. Is the aircraft arriving from another trip? How much schedule margin exists if the previous flight takes a delay? Would a different airport improve the plan? What is the best fit when the entire itinerary is considered?
The goal is to turn a changing field of aircraft into a clear and reliable recommendation.
Rick’s Perspective: Availability, Evaluation and Decisions
Private jet charter is a complex environment and a vast industry across North America. Aircraft types, sizes, makes, and models all have different strengths and weaknesses, as do the operators themselves. A good, long-term charter broker can distill each trip into the optimal available options for the unique mission and client preferences, aiming for a seamless and successful result. What is the most important part of any charter? The outcome.
Many clients newer to private flying naturally gravitate to the lowest-cost options, believing that the other components of the decision are relatively minor – not materially different enough to override price as the main or even sole factor in the decision. With the desired outcome in mind, other factors must be considered in the “best available” options and the booking decision.
While a newer broker may be looking for the best commission or defaulting to the option with the highest margin, a long-term, experienced broker knows that nothing else matters if the flight is disrupted. That disruption might result from a maintenance issue that grounds the plane, an operator’s scheduling mistake, or an owner-use conflict that removes the aircraft from charter.
Good brokers know that if it is in their client’s best interest, it is in their own best interest. With some brokers, the recommendation is not always what is best for the client in that situation. For good brokers, it is a “long game.” Take care of the client every time, and you will be taken care of over time. It is about service level, reliability, value, and the resulting relationships.
What Private Fliers Can Do
Get a trusted referral or ensure you are using a long-term, experienced expert. Provide the desired itinerary, passenger count, and baggage requirements as early as possible. The reason for the charter is helpful too. For example, is the flight day or time flexible if better options exist, or does the trip require a specific arrival time?
When specific availability and pricing are presented, do not delay in securing the preferred option if you are ready to move forward and comfortable with the cancellation terms. Pricing and availability are often a daily – and sometimes hourly – moving target.
About Rick Colson
Rick Colson is the Founder and CEO of New Flight Charters. A private pilot and aircraft owner, Rick has spent more than two decades helping business leaders, entrepreneurs and experienced private fliers with charter solutions throughout North America and internationally. His focus has always been on knowledgeable guidance, dependable service and long-term client relationships built on trust.
