A charter airline is one that operates charter flights, that is flights that take place outside normal schedules, by a hiring arrangement with a particular customer.

In the context of mass tourism, charter flights have acquired the more specific meaning of a flight whose sole function is to transport holidaymakers to tourist destinations. Such charter flights are contrasted with scheduled flights, but they do in fact operate to regular, published schedules. However, tickets are not sold directly by the charter airline to the passengers, but by holiday companies who have chartered the flight (sometimes in a consortium with other companies). Tourist redirects here; for the album by Athlete, see Tourist (album) Tourism is the act of travel for the purpose of recreation and business, and the provision of services for this act. ...

Although charter airlines typically carry passengers who have booked individually or as small groups to beach resorts, historic towns, or cities where a cruise ship is awaiting them, sometimes an aircraft will be chartered by a single group such as members of a company, a sports team, or the military.

Many charter flights are sold as part of a package holiday in which the price paid includes flights, accommodation and other services. At one time this was a legal requirement (or one enforced by the airlines' cartel), but this is no longer the case, and so-called "flight-only packages" can be bought by those who merely want to travel to the destination. Such packages are frequently cheaper than regular schedule airline fares. Furthermore charter airlines frequently operate on routes, or to airports, where there is no scheduled service. Much of the traffic through small and medium sized airports in the United Kingdom consists of charter flights, and the survival of these airports often depends on the airline landing fees they get from the charter companies. A package holiday or package tour consists of transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. ... A cartel is a group of legally independent producers whose goal it is to fix prices, limit supplies and limit competition. ...

Many airlines operating regular scheduled services (i.e., for which tickets are sold directly to passengers) have set up charter divisions, though these have not always proved competitive with the specialist charter companies. In addition, some cargo airlines occasionally carry a few charter passengers on their jets. Conversely, some charter airlines have branched out into scheduled services when their charter operations have uncovered a need or a market niche. FedEx DC-10 Cargo airlines are airlines dedicated to the transport of cargo. ...

The economics of charter flights demand that the flights should operate on the basis of near 100% seat occupancy, and the standard of seating and service may be lower than on scheduled airlines (though this is by no means always the case).

The airlines operating charter flights, and the holiday companies who are the initial purchasers of seats on them, have acquired an unhealthy reputation for financial instability. There have been a number of high-profile cases where holiday-makers have had their arrangements cancelled at short notice (and sometimes lost the substantial sums they have paid for package holidays), or have been left stranded at their destinations, by the collapse of airline or holiday company. A number of compulsory insurance and bond arrangements have been put in place to minimise at least the financial risk to the public from such events. Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of potential financial loss. ... In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the issuer owes the holders a debt and is obliged to repay the principal and interest (the coupon). ...

Related artices

• Air charter

The term Air Charter is a catch all phrase that refers to the renting of an entire aircraft vs. ...

Charter operators

Some well known companies who specialise in chartered flights are:

• Regal Aviation
• Jet Aviation
• Air Royale
• Jet Direct
• Sentient Jet
• TXI Aviation
• Million Air
• Jet Concierge
• FlightPlanners

Among airlines who offer or have offered charter services are: Regal Aviation is an aviation company based in Dallas, Texas that offers charter airline service around the world. ... Jet Aviation is an airline based in Switzerland, operating in the business jet market. ... Million Air is an aviation company the operates 28 FBOs across the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. ... Jet Concierge is a private jet travel membership service based in Dallas, Texas that operates charter airline flights around the world. ...

• ABX_Air
• Air Anatolia
• Air Atlanta Icelandic
• Air Japan
• Air Srpska
• Air Tindi
• Air Transat
• AOM French Airlines
• Arrow Air
• ATA
• Belavia
• Birgenair
• British Caledonian
• Britannia Airways
• Capitol Air
• Carnival Airlines (Owned by Carnival Cruise Lines)
• Cargolux
• Champion Air
• Citybird
• European Airlines
• First Choice Airways (formerly air2000)
• Frontier Flying Service
• Futura
• Germania
• Hapag-Lloyd
• Helios Airways
• Japan Airlines
• JMC
• Kenn Borek Air Ltd.
• Ladeco
• Lion Air
• Martinair
• Miami Air
• Monarch Airlines
• MyTravel Airways
• Omni Air
• North American Airlines
• Palmair
• Skyservice
• Sterling European Airlines
• Sobelair
• Tango (a division of Air Canada)
• TransMeridian Airlines
• Travelcitydirect.com
• UPS
• Zoom Airlines

Popular charter airline destinations include Palma De Mallorca, Tenerife, Alicante, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Honolulu and Miami, Punta Cana. ABX Air is a cargo airline based in Wilmington, Ohio, USA. It operates overnight express small package services and freight in the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico. ... Air Anatolia was a charter airline based in Istanbul, Turkey. ... Air Atlanta Icelandic is an airline based in Reykjavík, Iceland. ... Air Japan is an airline based in Japan. ... Air Srpska was the official flag carrier airline of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Air Tindi is a charter and scheduled airline based at Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada. ... Air Transat is an airline based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, operating scheduled and charter flights and serving 90 destinations in 25 countries. ... Arrow Air is a cargo airline based in Miami, Florida. ... ATA Airlines (formerly American Trans Air) is a discount airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. ... Belavia Belarusian Airlines (Belarusian: Белавія) is an airline based in Minsk, Belarus. ... British Caledonian was an airline formed from the merger in 1970 of British United Airways and Caledonian Airways. ... Britannia Airways Boeing 757-200 in pre-Thomson colours Britannia Airways Boeing 757-200 in Thomson colours Britannia Airways was the largest charter airline in the United Kingdom, rebranded as Thomsonfly in 2005. ... Capitol Air (not to be confused with Capital Airlines) was a 1970s and 1980s charter airline from the United States. ... Carnival Airlines was the air division of Carnival Cruise Lines. ... Carnival Cruise Lines was originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison. ... Cargolux Boeing 747-400F Cargolux (Cargolux Airlines International) is a cargo airline based in Luxembourg. ... Champion Air is a Minneapolis/St. ... CityBird, The Flying Dream! IATA code : H2 ICAO code : CTB Callsign : Dreamflight Planes: 2 Airbus A300-600R 1 Boeing 737-300 4 Boeing 737-400 1 Boeing MD-11 Airline founded in 1996 and based in Brussels, Belgium. ... First Choice Airways is the integrated charter airline of British tour operator First Choice plc, based in Manchester in the United Kingdom. ... Frontier Flying Service is an airline based in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. It operates an extensive network of year-round scheduled commuter services and postal services to Alaska bush communities, primarily north of Fairbanks, as well as charter services to the lower 48 and Canada. ... Futura Boeing 737 at Funchal (Madeira) in February 2003. ... In the Roman era Germania was the Latin name for a geographical area that stretched from the west bank of the Rhine to a vaguely-defined eastern frontier with the forest and steppe regions of modern Russia and Ukraine. ... Hapag-Lloyd Airlines (in German, Hapag-Lloyd Flug) is a charter airline based in Germany. ... Helios Airways is an airline operating scheduled and charter flights from Larnaca and Paphos in Cyprus. ... Japan Airlines (Japanese: 日本航空 Nihon KōkÅ«, or JAL) is the largest airline in Asia. ... The Landwind at the IAA 2005 in Frankfurt The Jiangling Motors Corporation Limited, abbreviated JMC, is an automobile manufacturer in China. ... Kenn Borek Air is an aircraft charter and leasing company based in Canada. ... Ladeco was a former Chilean airline; Ladeco stood for Linea Aerea DEl CObre or the airline of copper, in reference to the principal Chilean export. ... Lion Air is a no-frills, low-cost domestic airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia, established in 1999. ... Martinair aircraft at Amsterdam (Schiphol) Airport, the Netherlands (two McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and a Boeing 747) Martinair is both a charter and scheduled airline based in the Netherlands, with daily passenger or cargo charter and regular flights to many destinations around the world from its main base of Schiphol... Categories: Airline companies of the United States | Airline stubs ... Monarch Airlines is a charter airline based in Luton, United Kingdom. ... Formerly called Airtours, MyTravel is a package holiday company based in the United Kingdom. ... A North American Airlines Boeing 757 parked at the Rafael Hernández Airport, with Fed Ex and Tradewinds jets nearby. ... Palmair Boeing 737-200 in August 2003 Palmair European is a charter airline based in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. ... Skyservice Airlines is a combination business aviation, air ambulance and charter airline based in Ontario, Canada. ... Sterling European Airlines AS is a Danish airline, founded in 1994. ... Sobelair Boeing 767 Sobelair is the oldest Belgian charter airline. ... Air Canada Tango was a discount airline launched by Air Canada in 2001 to offer no-frills service on some of Air Canadas routes and to reduce operating costs at the struggling Air Canada. ... Air Canada Boeing 767-300 (C-GGFJ) in current livery. ... TransMeridian Airlines (IATA: T9, ICAO: TRZ, and Callsign: Trans Meridian) was an Atlanta, Georgia based charter operator, operating under U.S. Department of Transportation FAR Part 121. ... United Parcel Service, Inc. ... Zoom Airlines is a Canadian scheduled airline based in Ottawa, Ontario. ... Palma de Mallorca Palma de Mallorca is the major city and port in the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. ... Flag of Tenerife Tenerife (English also Teneriffe), a Spanish island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. ... Alicante (Castillian Spanish) or Alacant (Valencian Catalan) is the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of the Alacantí, in the southern part of the Land of Valencia, Spain, a historic Mediterranean port. ... San Juan from space, July 1997 Nickname: The Walled City Motto: Official website: http://www. ... Honolulu as seen from the International Space Station Honolulu is the largest city and the capital of the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. ... The Magic City, The American Riviera, The Sixth Borough Location of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. ... Punta Cana is a region in the southeast of the Dominican Republic. ...