Sealed bidNo accountFee disclosed
How It Works
Six steps. The first one does not ask for your name and the last one is the only point at which anybody learns it.
Process
From brief to boarding
Send the trip
Route, date, passenger count and anything that changes which aircraft is suitable. No name, no company, no phone number. We can price a flight without knowing who you are, so we do not ask.
We qualify the aircraft
We identify every certificated operator with a suitable aircraft positioned near your departure window, and we check the sector against the aircraft rather than against the brochure. Range near the limit, a short runway, a terrain constrained field or a hot high departure all change the shortlist.
Operators bid, sealed
The identical brief goes to all of them at the same moment. They do not see each other, and they do not see you. This removes the two largest sources of quote inflation: knowing who is asking, and knowing what the other bids were.
You compare
Every bid arrives with the operator name and certificate, tail number, year of manufacture, third party audit status, and one total with every fee already in it. Our fee is its own line. Nothing appears afterwards.
You award
Pick one. Only then does the winning operator receive the passenger manifest and your contact details, because the flight legally requires them. Every operator who lost the bid learns nothing about you at all.
We hold the file
Because we kept the full bid set, we already know who else had a suitable aircraft that day. When weather or a mechanical issue forces a recovery, that shortens it considerably.
Why sealed
The mechanism, not the marketing
Charter is a small industry with long memories. Operators talk to each other, and the ones who have been around a while can often work out who is behind a request from the route, the date and the aircraft asked for.
That knowledge changes the price. Not always dramatically, and not always dishonestly, but consistently in one direction. An operator who believes a client is price insensitive, or who knows the same client accepted a number last month, prices to match that belief.
A sealed bid removes both signals. The operator sees a trip. They price the trip. They know several competitors are seeing the same brief at the same moment and that the cheapest credible bid tends to win, so the incentive runs toward their real number rather than their hopeful one.
This is not a novel idea. It is how procurement has worked in every industry that buys things seriously for about a century. It is simply unusual in charter, where the norm is one broker calling three operators they happen to like and marking up whatever comes back.
What we are not
We do not own aircraft. We do not operate them. We are not selling you a membership, a card or a share, and there is nothing to deposit. If a trip is better flown commercially we will say so, because a client who trusts the advice comes back and one who does not, does not.
Questions
Before you send anything
What does a private jet charter actually cost?
It depends far more on where the aircraft is parked than on the aircraft itself. The same airframe on the same day can differ by half between two operators, because one has it sitting on your departure ramp and the other has to fly it in empty and fly it home again. That is why we run a sealed bid instead of publishing a rate. Operators price your specific trip against each other and you see every bid with all fees included.
Why will you not publish hourly rates like everyone else?
Because an hourly rate ignores positioning, and positioning is usually the largest single cost on a charter. It also ignores daily minimums, overnight fees, ramp and handling, peak day surcharges, de-icing, international permits and federal excise tax. Any site quoting a clean hourly number is either burying those costs or is about to add them after your deposit.
How do you keep my identity private from operators?
Your brief goes out with the route, date, passenger count and cabin requirements only. No name, no company, no contact details. Operators bid against each other on the trip. The winning operator learns who is flying once you award the flight, because the manifest legally requires it. Every operator who did not win never finds out.
Do you own the aircraft?
No. We are a charter broker. Every flight is operated by an independent air carrier holding the operating certificate required in its jurisdiction, which in the United States means FAR Part 135. We source and compare those operators. We do not own, lease, operate or control any aircraft, and we tell you which certificate holder is flying you before you commit.
How far in advance do I need to book?
Domestic legs can often be arranged same day if an aircraft is available nearby, though the closer to departure you get the thinner the choice becomes. International trips need more lead time because of customs notification, overflight and landing permits, and crew duty limits. Peak weekends and ski season at slot controlled mountain airports are the two cases where weeks of notice genuinely changes what you can get.
What is an empty leg and should I wait for one?
An empty leg is a repositioning flight an operator has to fly anyway, usually to collect a client or return home. They are sold at a discount because the alternative is flying empty. The catch is that they run on the operator schedule, not yours, and they get cancelled when the original trip changes. They suit flexible travel and they are a poor plan for a fixed meeting.
Is a bigger aircraft always faster?
Over long sectors, yes, because it goes nonstop where a smaller aircraft needs a fuel stop, and it cruises higher and faster. Under roughly four hundred nautical miles the difference collapses, because most of the trip is climb and descent and neither aircraft spends long at cruise. Our route pages show block time by class for that exact reason.
What happens if weather or a mechanical issue cancels my flight?
The operator is responsible for providing a recovery aircraft or refunding the flight, and the terms sit in the charter agreement you sign with them. Because we hold the bids from every operator who quoted your trip, we already know who else had a suitable aircraft available that day, which usually shortens the recovery.
Photography on this site is representative. It does not depict a specific aircraft, operator or tail number offered for charter.