If you ever wanted to travel, the easier thing would be to go online, book your travel tickets, and check into the airport on the specific travel date; we are all conversant with that. But what if you did not want to go through all this? Maybe, your social standing does not allow you or you have a keen eye on keeping your itinerary anonymous? This is the case where charter flights come in. Charter flights do not operate like the regular pre-scheduled flights. In short, you do not have to publish your information including arrival tie, where you are traveling to, etc. Charter flights operate differently in a way that they do not publish their schedules publicly or allow for the public to know that they operate from Destination X to destination Z at a given time each day. With charter flights, you are subjected to private, unscheduled travel itineraries, to your absolute convenience.
Types of Charter Flights
There are different types of charter flights, all depending on their operational procedures among many other things.
Special Event Tour Charter Flights
These are public charter flights that operate solely to provide transportation to a specific group of people, to a specific event, for a specified length of time. All the
se are beside the air transportation itself and are also separate from admission charges into the event. The events may be but not limited to sports and concerts affiliated to politics, education, cultural, and religion among others.
Affinity Charter Flights
Affinity charter flights are different in the sense that they consist of passengers who belong to the same group or organization, and their flight has been organized by a specific club or firm only for its members. The passengers usually pay for their flight tickets individually as opposed to the other types of charter flights.
Single Entity Charter Flights
This kind of charter flight occurs when a company or firm contracts the services the entire seats of a specific airplane, to fly its members to and from a given function. The contracting company pays for the airfare of all the members on board, and may not book only a few seats but the entire airplane. For instance, a company may hire a specific airplane to fly a soccer team and its support staff to and from a game. The company will foot the entire cost in the process without fail.
Public Charter Flights
Public charter flights are mostly seasonal, and they operate between numerous cities without stopping. Essentially, the operation of the aircraft is contracted by an individual or a firm, to move its members from one point to another. The aircraft company then goes ahead to sell the seats to the public directly or via a travel consultancy agency. What happens, in the end, is that the aircraft may get booked as a total package as opposed to a single entry, bringing about the reason as to why most public charter flights operate seasonally.
Charter Flight Rules
First and foremost, ensure the legitimacy of the public charter flight by confirming that it is approved to carry out such business. Ensure that you have a signed contract agreeing to the terms and condition outlined. You will need to take time to go over the policies outlined before signing the contract. Do all this before booking so that you have the right to be refunded fully in case of any mishap.
- On purchasing a public charter flight ticket, the company has seven days to notify you of any perceived changes that may result in your flight cancellation. The specified departure date, in this case, has to be not less than ten days away, and if not, the charter company has to notify you as soon as possible in written form.
- Changes in the route or destination, departure date and time as well as return date and time, a difference in the accommodation facilities named upon signing the contract, and an increase in the price already paid, must be communicated with you as soon as possible.
- If the flight you booked is canceled, or if you have to cancel it because of the above-named changes, the charter company must refund you fully the amount yo paid upon booking within fourteen days of cancelling the flight.
- If no announcement was made regarding any changes and you still had to cancel your flight, you may be subjected to a deduction of a given percentage. Last minute changes that may affect the departure time and change in the cost of your ticket may happen, in which case you are not entitled to a refund if you cancel your flight under such circumstances.
- If your refund is not effected, you may contact your credit card company for help towards the same. If you did not pay with a credit card, you are at liberty to file a claim of refund within sixty days for lawful effect.
- Charter flights must comply with rules governing people living with disability. It is a criminal offence for charter companies to discriminate against such people and this may be pursued in the court of law.
- Public charter operators must provide services that are friendly to people living with disabilities including the aircraft layout, check-ins and check-outs, wheelchair services, among others.
- For the baggage and luggage regulations, public charter flights are to operate in the same way as the scheduled flights, with an exception to the international charter flights, whose regulations may differ slightly.
Conclusion
Charter flights can be very convenient, and have actually saved so many people a lot of time and energy in the hustle and bustle of booking travel tickets. While they are all appropriate and convenient, it is not just enough to rush into booking a chartered flight. It is equally vital to look into the legality of the caste of your charter flight. You need to go through the rules and regulations, the terms and conditions, and the policies that are outlined, before agreeing to the contract. By so doing, you will be making an informed decision in the overall.
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