• You'll save time. Apart from being faster, with private jets, you'll also spend less time on the ground. This is simply because they fly from more airports than commercial airliners, so you don't have to travel too far to an airport to catch a flight. Also, you don't have to deal with long check-in times and baggage carousels for every flight. This, ultimately, saves you time.

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• You'll fly on your schedule. With a private jet charter, you fly on your schedule and not the other way around. This simply means that you can fly when you want and not when a flight is available.

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• You'll get more work done. Once in the air, you'll get more work done in the privacy of a private jet. You'll have enough space to work and the privacy to make calls when you need to.

 

When it comes to chartering a private jet for one-way flight, you have a few choices. For one, you can fly to your destination and the aircraft flies back, which is how a typical charter flight operates and you basically need to pay for the operating cost of the return leg. It sure is convenient, but what if you want a true one-way flight to save some money?

 

As we introduced before, you can always try to find an empty leg flight, which could save you up to 75% of the typical charter flight cost. But it is not always available on your schedule. When that happens, you'll have another option if you really want to save some money (who doesn't?) on your charter flight, which is using an operator with floating fleet.

 

But what is a floating fleet in private jet charter? In this post, we'll look at this concept in more detail.

 

 

What Is Floating Fleet?

So, what exactly is a floating fleet? It simply refers to when an operator has several of the same types of aircraft, which are all in various locations.

 

For example, the operator might have multiple Gulfstream or Citation aircraft throughout the US. Because they own several of the same aircraft, they don't have to return to their home base, and they simply change the pilots and crew where necessary.

 

You can almost think of it in the same way as car rental companies. These companies have many of the same vehicles, and they are in many different locations across the country.

 

When someone rents a car, they drive it to its new location, and it stays there until another client hires it again. In this way, customers can pick up or drop off cars where it best suits them.

 

This means the customer saves money, and the car rental company doesn't need the infrastructure to store its vehicles.

 

Likewise, with floating fleets, you have the option to charter a flight from your location of choice. Like car rental companies, the operators don't need to store all their aircraft in one place.

 

What Are the Differences Between Floating Fleet, Regular Charter, and Empty Legs?

With a private jet charter, you'll book a flight out of the airport where the operator is based. Your price will then include the operating costs for the aircraft and other expenses, like landing fees, passenger taxes, and crew salaries. The quoted costs will also then include the same expenses for the return flight.

 

With this flight, you'll depart from the operator's base and fly to your destination. At the end of your trip, you'll fly back to the operator's base.

 

Also, if you fly out of an airport where there's no base for an operator, you'll have to factor in the costs for the flight from their base to the departure airport.

 

Now, it often happens that a customer only wants to charter a flight for a one-way trip. Here, once the customer reaches their destination, the operator will fly the aircraft back to their base without any passengers. This is what's known as an empty leg.

 

When you happen to be flying to where their base is, you can then book this flight. Because the initial customer paid most of the expenses already, you'll be able to get this empty leg flight far cheaper than usual.

 

With a floating fleet, operators have aircraft available at many locations. This means you'll probably be able to book a flight out of your chosen destination far cheaper than a typical private jet charter.

 

Also, because the operator's fleet is available in many locations, you'll also be able to find flights easier. While empty legs come along only occasionally, floating fleets are always available. This means you don't have to limit your schedule to when a flight is available.

 

One thing you should keep in mind, though, is that, although floating fleets are always available, the specific tails are in most cases not confirmed until 24 hours before their departure. Floating fleet operators confirm flights just before the flight date based on a real-time flight schedule to save costs.

 

This is also part of the reason they're able to offer flights at lower prices, but it comes with the drawback of not having a confirmed flight.

 

 

How Do They Charge?

Because floating fleet operators spread out their fleet over a variety of locations, they're able to charge less. They are usually cheaper than typical charter flights which need to return to their home base, but pricier than empty flights about 40%. Now, compared to a charter flight while only flying one-way, you'll save 60% by using a floating fleet operator.

 

This, ultimately, serves two purposes. In the first place, it lessens your financial burden because you'll pay far less. Secondly, the operator has far fewer empty legs.

 

The most cost-effective solution, though, is an empty leg flight. However, as we said before, they are exceedingly rare, and you'll often have to schedule around them. This negates one of the main benefits of using a private jet charter in the first place.

 

 

The Bottom Line

When you want the ultimate freedom in flying and fly on your schedule, chartering a private jet is the best option. Besides, you'll also travel faster, and you'll get more work done while you're at it.

 

Here, one of the options you can consider is chartering a floating fleet. It's often cheaper, but one of its drawbacks is that the specific aircraft or tail won't be confirmed until shortly before the flight.

 

Airacer is your one-stop platform for your private aviation experience. We provide you with the most convenient and reliable private flight services. If you are interested in chartering a private jet for your next trip, we welcome you to use our cost estimator and request a quote.