The difference between charter flights and regular flights. Charter flight - what is it and how does it differ from a regular one

Going on vacation, someone buys a ticket on their own, someone trusts this process to a tour operator, buying a ready-made "plastic bag" flight - hotel. In this case, we are often talking about charter flights. What does a charter flight mean? What are its pros and cons? Where can I buy it and how to save on it.

For those who want to get from point A to point B, there are two types of flights:

• regular;
• charter.

It is far from always possible to meet a regular flight on the A-B route. Sometimes it looks like A-B-C or A-B-C-C. This situation does not suit many tourists who do not want to overpay and waste time at other airports.

Even more, this does not suit tour operators who need direct flights to popular resorts. After all, a connecting flight for them will cost more, which means that tourists will not want to buy a tour at a price 1.5-2 times higher because of an expensive flight.

Tour operators negotiate with airlines and airports to create direct flights to the places where they send their tourists. Thus reducing the ticket price to the maximum.

That is why some amateur travelers scorn "batch" tourists, excluding them as such. After all, they do not think over the route, do not look for profitable flights. They just buy a ready-made tour. But this option is in constant demand among the majority, so charters have flown, fly and will fly.

Charter flight - what does it mean? Any flight that is operated on request. Any company can book a plane. Why, even you can order an individual charter, of course, if you have the money for it.

In the 90s, many airlines, in an effort to make money, switched to charters. The number of regular flights has been reduced several times. The savings reached the point of absurdity. Many more people were stuffed into the plane, which was contrary to security measures. They took out old planes with defects. Technicians did not have time to inspect them before the flight. Passengers were not fed, or fed very poorly. Now the situation has somewhat changed for the better.

Charter pros:

• charter flight in 95% of cases will be direct. After all, the tenant needs to get to the destination as soon as possible;
• it is cheaper than regular. The tour operator negotiates with the air carrier individually and reduces the cost of the flight as much as possible so that the final tour costs less;
• the opportunity to get to those places where regular flights do not fly.

Cons of charters:

• irregularity, it is done when it is convenient for the tour operator;
• inconvenient time, because charters are usually “released” in the intervals between regular flights;
• rescheduling charter flights is a scourge for tourists. Sometimes people spend up to 1.5-2 days at the airport and lose precious vacation days, money and nerves;
• you will not be able to return, exchange an air ticket for a charter. That is why many tour operators do not refund money for tours if you refuse to fly 1-2 days before departure. After all, they have already spent them;
• not everyone knows about this point. Bonus miles are credited only on regular airline flights;
• You can buy a ticket for a charter only through a tour operator.

How charter flights work

Let's take a flight as an example. Moscow-Antalya. On the Turkish coast, there are a huge number of hotels that are waiting for tourists.

1. The tour operator plans to load tourists in the direction of Moscow-Antalya.
2. Negotiates with the airline and airports to conduct a charter flight along the route.
3. Sells tickets to tourists.
4. If the planned loading is not justified, it sells flights at a reduced price.

But it’s not always easy to buy a ticket from a tour operator. Usually they only sell them in conjunction with tours. There are times when the cost of a regular flight is higher than the cost of a charter along with the cheapest tour (for 3-4 days in a 2*-3* hotel).

How to save on a charter?

Search, search, search. Some tour operators sell tickets separately. The closer the departure date, the cheaper the flight will cost. But be aware of the cons. It cannot be canceled or rescheduled. You can arrive at an inconvenient time or wait at the airport for several hours. If you are not afraid of difficulties, then a charter is what you need.

It is almost impossible to find a charter flight for free sale on airline ticket aggregator websites. To do this, he must perform a joint connecting flight with another company. Therefore, if you are looking for a cheap air ticket, look at the sites of tour operators.

Happy travels!

During the holiday season, experienced travelers use charter flights and save decent money on air tickets. What is a charter flight and how to buy a ticket for it?

The difference between a charter flight and a regular flight

A regular flight involves free sale at the box office, offices and ticketing sites. A charter flight is a specialized transportation on pre-order, which is performed by one or another airline.

As a rule, long before the date of the flight, the intermediary buys out a significant part of the seats on the plane for its customers. They are travel companies that are interested in certain tourist destinations. Sometimes travel agencies buy places directly without an intermediary. The agencies then sell tickets to tourists, and they can no longer be bought at the box office or on the website of the airline that provided the tickets.

Charter flights gain popularity during the holiday season, as ordinary companies may not be able to cope with the flow of passengers.

The organizer undertakes to take full responsibility for preparing for the flight: booking tickets, documentation.

Other charter differences:

1. A passenger buys a plane ticket long before departure and has its paper equivalent on hand. A charter ticket is issued by a travel agency on the eve of the flight or on the day of departure at the airport.
2. The organizer reserves the right to change the departure date a few days or hours in advance, while the regular flight departs strictly according to the schedule.

A large organization, an educational institution, a political party can act as a customer of a charter flight.

Unlike buying tickets for regular flights, charter tickets are issued only after full payment.

Types of charters

Charter flights can be classified by the nature of the flight, as well as by destination. By the nature of the flights are divided into:

According to the purpose of transportation of certain groups, flights can be as follows:

1. Corporate or closed - organization of transportation of the team for an event or recreation;
2. Medical - specializes in emergencies to provide urgent care. Has medical equipment on board;
3. Cargo - runs for the transportation of large cargo;
4. Tourist - organization of transportation of tourists to the resort by travel agencies or an intermediary;
5. Sports - specializes in the transportation of fans.

In addition, charter aircraft can be rented for schoolchildren and students for educational or sightseeing trips, religious pilgrimage groups to visit religious centers, government officials to attend congresses, forums and conferences.

Advantages

An interesting plus of such flights is that they fly in very rare directions. Sometimes this is the only way to get somewhere. For example, only charter flights fly to the Greek islands, Rhodes, Corfu and Crete, Paphos, Turkish Antalya, the Egyptian resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, the resorts of Tunisia, India and other countries.

The obvious advantage of charter flights also lies in cheap tickets, allowing you to redirect excess funds in the right direction. For European destinations, the difference in price can reach two to three times. This is due to the fact that when renting a whole aircraft, agencies receive a large discount. Ultimately, the cost of a regular ticket can be reduced from 50% to 70%.

If a passenger fails to fly on a ticket due to life circumstances, then he can always reissue the document to another person.

More often than not, charter planes fly non-stop, so airlines do not incur penalties, which also lowers ticket prices.

Flaws

Advice! Get ready for a charter flight rescheduling.

These types of flights do not support the accumulation of award miles. In case of cancellation of the ticket, it is impossible to return the money spent on the ticket.

If the passenger is late for the departure time of the aircraft, the return ticket is automatically canceled and the money on it is non-refundable.

On board a charter aircraft there is no division into classes, as in ordinary liners - there is no premium class, business, economy premium. All economy class passenger seats to minimize transportation costs.

Lack of comfort. This can include a whole range of inconveniences:

• the passenger cannot increase the period of rest at the resort due to large monetary losses when canceling the ticket;
• there is not always online check-in for a flight;
• frequent change of departure airport;
• narrow chairs to increase seating;
• baggage weight restrictions.

A separate drawback is the inconvenient departure time. Most often, charter flights are set free from regular flights. This is either the earliest time, or at night. The passenger is forced to lack sleep, arriving at the resort tired. And upon arrival, another difficulty awaits him - a long wait for check-in, dragging on for several hours. Usually hotels are populated from 12-14 days.

Charter flight passengers cannot use partner aircraft in case of malfunctions or other reasons. This is due to both rare destinations and the lack of a reserve aircraft for departure at the right time.

Myths about charters

Uninformed travelers believe that a charter aircraft is an outdated or unclaimed vessel, and therefore a ticket for it is cheaper. This is wrong. The quality of air transport and the deterioration of its parts depend on the solvency of the consolidator.

Important! If a passenger encounters flight delays or reschedules, they have the same rights as a passenger on a scheduled flight.

In accordance with the flight delay time, the passenger can use:

• a mother and child room with a changing table and a separate toilet room;
• make several phone calls and use e-mail;
• drink coffee or tea, other drinks;
• get hot meals and snacks;
• hotel accommodation;
• deposit luggage.

In such a situation, the passenger must affix a flight delay stamp.

If the airline does not provide the listed services, the passenger must collect receipts for expenses, and then submit them together with a claim addressed to the airline for a refund.

A common myth is that supposedly charter flights do not include meals on board. Depending on the duration of the flight, passengers are provided with food.

The flight can be canceled - this is a delusion. They can be postponed for hours or even days, but if a person has paid money for a ticket, they cannot cancel the flight. The flight will take place even with one person on board.

How to check your flight

There are several available ways to check the time and date of departure according to the purchased ticket.

The first way is to contact the travel company where the charter ticket was purchased. Call the agency's office using the contact number and specify the exact time of departure.

Advice! Call the tour operator one day before the departure date.

Another way is to go online to the airport website and check the electronic scoreboard with the flight schedule. In this case, the passenger must know at least the flight number.

Due to the fact that not all companies support online check-in, you need to come to the airport building and go to the check-in counter to complete the procedure.

If the carrier has an online check-in service, the passenger follows the instructions below step by step:

1. Go to the website of the air carrier;
2. Click on the "online registration" column;
3. In the window that appears, enter the booking code or ticket number;
4. Enter the passenger's last name in Latin letters;
5. Click next and select seats in the new window;
6. After that, confirm the choice and receive a boarding pass to the specified email address;
7. Print the document on the printer and take it with you to the airport.

Upon arrival at the airport, you need to go through the check-in procedure for the flight. A printed boarding pass must be presented before boarding.

How to buy a ticket for a charter flight

A ticket for a charter flight can be purchased from travel agencies. As a rule, it will be a complex of services, including a hotel, food, transfer and transport.

There is also an option to buy tickets on your own. They can be sold on specialized resources or websites of leading tour operators a few days before the flight.

The Loukoster.com search engine provides tickets for charter flights, but they should not be viewed earlier than a week before departure. This method is not the most convenient, since there are no guarantees that free tickets will appear on sale for charter flights due to the high demand for them in travel agencies.

The best time to buy a charter ticket is at the beginning or end of the season, and not at the peak when the vast majority of tourists fly.

Advice! Buy round-trip charter tickets with a return in exactly 14 days. This is the most popular tour duration and the cheapest.

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02.04.2018, 00:00

Charter flights are direct flights in a certain direction, organized not by airlines, but by third-party customers. Often this is a great way to fly directly to resorts from different cities. Such movement has its advantages, for example, savings, but there are also disadvantages.

Charter Features

What is a charter

This is a rental of an aircraft for a certain time, while the crew and equipment are the same as on regular flights. The organization of movement is carried out by ground services that control and schedule flights. The only difference is in the sale of tickets: only those companies that ordered it sell seats on a charter.

What does a charter on a train to a resort mean?

This means the flight will be non-stop, a direct flight will save time as much as possible. But at the same time, there will be no business class in the cabin. All passengers fly with equal conditions, often with "economy" service. Booking a flight for a travel organization is very expensive, so there is almost always a savings regime that affects the quality of food and accommodation for passengers.

Benefits of charter flights

1. The main advantage of charters is the low cost of air tickets. The price of a charter ticket can be 30-60% lower than a regular flight. And although the service is not the best, getting there is economical.
2. Often a charter is sold along with hotel accommodation. This is convenient for those who do not know the country or language well. This trip is perfect for relaxing. For an additional fee, meals, insurance, excursions are offered. To use such services or not - the buyer decides.
3. With the help of a charter, you can get directly to places where regular flights do not fly. And all this without long waits for flights, searching for multiple tickets and complicated route selection. Even from small towns, flights to popular resorts are organized.

Cons of charter flights

1. The schedule of charter flights is not stable. Typically, a charter departure is "built into" the schedule of regular (regular) flights, resulting in possible delays. The first planes are always released, which move on specific dates, as passengers often plan transfers, rush to work. Charters are always direct, most clients go on vacation, so they can be moved for a few minutes or hours. Yes, and departures are often organized at the wrong time.
2. Bonuses and miles for flights on charters are not credited. Additional gifts are possible only from the tour operator, but only when buying tours, not individual tickets.
3. You will not be able to return a ticket for a charter flight. Sometimes it is possible to exchange for another date or re-register to another person, but only if the company agrees.
4. A charter flight is an opportunity to get to a vacation spot for a modest price. But such flights are organized only to popular countries and in the "high" season. More charter flights are possible for any events. For example, flights to the Olympic Games are always organized not only for athletes, but also for fans.

A charter flight is a flight that is carried out on a preliminary individual order in the intervals between regular flights. In other words, a charter is an aircraft charter agreement on certain conditions, which provides for the full or partial lease of an aircraft. For example, many travel companies enter into similar contracts for the transport of tourists to the destination.

Charter flights: concept and features

Charter flights are operated irregularly, for example, travel companies rent aircraft from airlines for the season, which starts from May to September (summer) and from December to March (winter). A feature of purchasing a charter ticket is that you can buy it only at a travel agency or on the tour operator's website, since they are not on sale at airline ticket offices.

It is worth noting that often the cost of a charter ticket is not refundable, unlike others, when, due to force majeure, you have to cancel a flight. In some cases, a refund is possible, but at the same time, the fewer days left before departure, the smaller the amount returned to the buyer.

The difference between a charter flight and regular flights is also the departure time in case of a breakdown or unforeseen delay due to weather conditions. First, regular flights depart, and only then charter flights.

A charter flight is characterized by constant delays, despite the advance booking of an air ticket. Even when ordering several weeks in advance, the boarding pass is issued one or two days before departure. According to the law, if a regular flight is delayed, the carrier company is fully responsible for the delay and is obliged to provide the client with a place to rest and wait in a hotel with meals.

At least 24 hours before the flight, the passenger of the charter flight undertakes to personally clarify the details and time, which is usually indicated in many agreements of charter companies. Airlines that offer charter services are not particularly interested in attracting regular customers, so the cabin is quite crowded and all passengers are on an equal footing without dividing it into categories (first, business and economy classes).

If there are not enough passengers for the charter, it can be canceled or combined with another one with a time shift, which is inconvenient for the client, especially if he booked a hotel room in advance. Also, the passenger cannot choose a specific seat in the aircraft cabin, since the boarding pass is issued immediately before boarding or a couple of days in advance.

Features of charter flights

The main criteria for choosing a charter aircraft include the following:

• Price. For flights over short distances, the price can be half as much as for regular ones;
• Price stability. The cost is stable, unlike conventional flights, and also significantly reduced a few days before departure;
• Flying to those parts of the world where regular planes usually do not fly;
• No transfers, which saves time and reduces the duration of stay in the air;
• Lack of a clear schedule. In some cases, this is beneficial for people who need to fly to a given point early in the morning, since most charters take off in the middle of the night.

Features and specifics of regular flights

• Regular flights are carried out according to a clear schedule, and tickets can be purchased by each passenger at the air ticket office. At the same time, a ticket purchased from an airline is a kind of contract between the passenger and the carrier, which guarantees the flight and the provision of paid services.
• If necessary, the client can return part of the funds spent on the purchase of the ticket.
• The closer the day of departure, the higher the cost of the ticket. Therefore, many passengers seek to save money and book a ticket in advance, as if lending to the airline.
• The most profitable is the purchase of a round-trip ticket at a fixed price, however, they cannot be returned, but the advantage is the favorable price and a guarantee of a return flight. You do not need to buy a return ticket in advance, which sometimes may not be at the box office.
• Popular well-known airlines are aimed at long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation with customers, therefore they offer one free flight subject to the accumulation of a certain number of bonuses that are credited to the passenger's virtual account for using the company's services - the so-called "miles".

Travel agencies include the price of air travel in the ticket, so the client may not even know the cost of the ticket, as he buys a range of services, including transfers and excursions. Thus, the main difference between a charter flight and regular flights is the absence of transfers during the flight, the cost of the ticket and the possibility of departure at any time convenient for the passenger.

What is a charter flight

Charter (English charter - to charter a ship)- this is a flight on a special order for the transportation of passengers on a given route at a predetermined time. The customer (or consolidator) of a charter flight can be a travel company, a large enterprise, an educational institution, a socio-political party, etc.
These organizations can charter flights for transportation:

* tourists;
* employees of business enterprises,
* teams and their fans to the venue of sports competitions;
* Youth and schoolchildren for sightseeing and entertainment events;
* believers in pilgrimage centers;
* civil servants, deputies and members of the government to hold congresses, conferences, etc.

Regular flights are operated in accordance with the aircraft traffic schedule, formed by the carrier and published in a computer data bank, while charter flights are non-scheduled flights not included in the main schedule and operated in accordance with the charter agreement and the approved charter traffic plan (schedule).

The price of a ticket on a regular flight includes all risks, the plane will fly in any case, even with a single passenger on board. By buying all the seats on the plane in advance, the travel agency takes these risks upon itself; for the wholesale sale, the airline significantly reduces the price of renting an aircraft.

Based on the economic and statistical data of past periods, the travel agency can plan how many tourists will fly in a given direction and order a plane based on the calculated figures. Of course, there is a risk that there will be significantly fewer passengers, but for this risk, the travel agency receives a discount from the airline.

The scheme for renting (freight) an aircraft is quite simple: a tour operator, usually a large one, specializing in a particular tourist destination, signs an agreement with an air carrier and gets the opportunity to charter the whole aircraft for a certain time. Further, the tour operator can dispose of the sale of seats on the plane at its discretion: it can keep everything for itself, or it can sell part under contracts to other travel agencies, companies or individuals.

Most of the charter flights are operated by airlines on the same aircraft that serve regular flights. Charters fly between regular flights and usually operate a round-trip flight (the plane brings new tourists and immediately picks up those who have already rested from the resort). Most often, tour operators rent Tu-154 or Il-86.

For tourists, the features of a charter flight are as follows:

* Charter tickets are mainly purchased as part of a standard tour package (hotel, meals, transport, transfer, etc.).
* Advance purchase and booking of charter tickets is not possible. Unlike the purchase of regular tickets, charter tickets are issued only after full payment.
* The exact schedule of a charter flight usually becomes known a few days, and sometimes even hours before the departure of the aircraft, and the tourist receives a ticket in his hands one day before departure, as a rule, at the airport from a travel agency representative.

Advantages:

1. Regular flights simply do not fly to a number of popular resorts, and charter flights are the only way to get there without transfers. For example, only charter flights fly to the Turkish cities of Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman, the Egyptian resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, the Greek islands of Corfu, Crete, Rhodes, Paphos, the resorts of Tunisia, India and other countries.

2. The undoubted advantage of a charter flight is its price. As a rule, it is much lower than for regular flights. In addition, if a day or two before departure, the tour operator did not sell all the tickets for the plane, then he, trying to at least somehow reduce his losses, reduces the cost of the ticket by 50-70%.
Tickets for a charter flight, of course, not sold, can be purchased a few days before departure from a tour operator-consolidator or travel agencies that have relevant agreements with this tour operator, as well as through exchanges and brokerage houses on the Internet specializing in selling tickets for charter flights.
Information about charter flights and offers for the sale of tickets for them can also be found on professional travel portals.
It should be borne in mind that a charter ticket will cost more separately from the tour package. But such a purchase is still more profitable than buying a ticket for a regular flight. Charter rates to European countries can be 2-3 times lower than regular ones, but this difference is not so significant for long-distance destinations.

Flaws:

1. In the cabin of a charter aircraft, there is no division into classes: first, business and economy class, and a larger number of seats are provided by reducing the distance between them, which creates certain inconveniences during the flight.

2. Since charter aircraft fly between regular flights, the time of their departure (arrival) is often inconvenient for tourists: arriving early in the morning at a place of rest creates certain inconveniences when checking into a hotel (a tourist has to wait several hours for check-in, since check-out time in hotels is usually at 12-14 o'clock in the morning), and with a late arrival, a whole day of rest is lost.

3. A significant drawback for passengers is the flight delay for an indefinite time. If there was a failure in the schedule or an overload of the airfield, then regular flights will be sent first, and only then charter flights. In the event of a malfunction of a scheduled flight aircraft, passengers can be taken out on the next flight or on a flight of a partner airline. However, charter customers will have to wait for the cause of the malfunction to be eliminated or for a special reserve aircraft, which may not be available.
According to the current "General Rules for the Air Transportation of Passengers and Baggage": in the event of a delay, cancellation of a flight, including a charter one, the carrier is obliged to organize the following services for passengers at points of departure and at intermediate points:

* provision of rooms for mother and child to a passenger with a child under the age of 7 years;
* 2 phone calls or 2 e-mail messages when waiting for a flight departure for more than 2 hours;
* provision of soft drinks while waiting for the flight departure for more than 2 hours;
* provision of hot meals while waiting for the departure of the flight for more than 4 hours and then every 6 hours - during the daytime and every 8 hours - at night;
* hotel accommodation when waiting for a flight departure for more than 8 hours - in the daytime and more than 6 hours - at night;
* delivery by transport from the airport to the hotel and back in cases where the hotel is provided without charging an additional fee;
* organization of luggage storage (clause 99 of section VII).

Be sure to ask to put a note on the ticket about the flight delay, certified by the seal or stamp of the airline representative. Without this mark, in the event of a claim, it will be difficult to prove the very fact of the aircraft delay.
Keep receipts if you self-catering and rented a hotel room. After returning from vacation, make a detailed application addressed to the airline, attaching copies of tickets and receipts to it, and personally, against signature, deliver it to the claims department.

4. Perhaps the most important disadvantage of charter flights is the inability to return money for a ticket for a charter flight in case of cancellation of the flight. It’s good if you planned everything in advance and there were no surprises on the eve of departure. And if not?
Under current legislation, the possibility of refunding the amounts paid for the ticket is expressly provided for in Article 108 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation, according to which the money for the ticket will be returned in full if it is returned no later than 24 hours before the departure of the aircraft, if the ticket is returned later than this time you will be charged a fee, the amount of which cannot exceed 25% of the total cost of the ticket. The implementation of charter flights also falls under the scope of this code (Article 104).
But the problem is that in the case of a charter flight, the tourist concludes an agreement not with the carrier, but with the travel agency that chartered the plane, and travel agencies usually insure themselves against any risks and, as a rule, include something like this clause in their contracts with tourists : "Air ticket fare for charter flights is non-refundable." This means that no one is going to return the money for a charter ticket to you, and whether you will win your case in court is still a very big question. The travel agency, of course, can make concessions to the tourist by selling the ticket to another passenger and returning the money to the tourist, or simply rewriting the ticket for another person for a certain commission, but this is not always an acceptable option.
On the one hand, one can understand a travel agency that bought the whole plane and does not want to take risks, because if it does not sell the returned ticket, the losses will be completely borne by it. On the other hand, this is contrary to common sense and it is not clear why a tourist is sometimes forced to pay quite ridiculous money (especially when it comes to long-distance destinations) for a service that he never used.
However, this practice has developed not only in travel agencies, but also in many, including foreign, airlines. For example, if an airline holds promotions or some low-cost company sells tickets at minimum fares, a refund for a ticket in this case also becomes impossible, which is directly stipulated by the rules of airlines.

In general, we can say that charter flights are a fairly convenient mode of transport for an economical vacation, but with some not always pleasant differences from regular flights. But these inconveniences are compensated by the low price of the flight.