Curated from real Flight Desk inbound over the last twelve months. If the question you have is not here, call the desk on +44 20 4586 0040.
Our instant widget returns an indicative price band in under ten seconds based on the great-circle distance, cabin-class hourly rates, positioning assumptions, and applicable fees. A firm operator quote with specific aircraft and tail lands from the Flight Desk within roughly fifteen minutes on most sectors, faster on high-traffic lanes where inventory is dense.
Transparent flat margin on top of the operator's quoted price. The margin percentage is disclosed on the firm quote. 25% deposit is due at contract signature (industry standard for charter); balance is due 48 hours before departure. Payment rails: wire transfer, credit card (3.5% surcharge), and crypto-rail settlement available on request for deposits over $250,000.
Tiered by proximity to departure. Outside fourteen days: 100% refundable less a 3% transaction cost. Fourteen days to 72 hours: 50% refundable. Inside 72 hours: non-refundable but fully re-bookable on the same aircraft class within 90 days, subject to operator discretion. Weather cancellations re-book at no charge.
Yes. Captain's authority. Every quote includes a weather alternate and fuel reserve. If the captain determines the departure airfield, destination, or routing is unsafe, the flight is delayed, re-routed, or rebooked without penalty. Mountain operations (Aspen, Samedan, Eagle) carry the tightest weather windows and are the most weather-dependent sectors on our network.
Depends on the aircraft class. VLJ: carry-on plus one small soft-sided suitcase per passenger. Light: one medium hard-sided bag plus carry-on. Midsize: no practical limit for four passengers, two suitcases plus carry-on each. Super-mid and above: no practical limit. Golf bags, skis, and scuba gear fit on most airframes above midsize; we confirm at quote stage. Weight-and-balance is crew responsibility.
Yes on almost every aircraft in our network. We note pet type, weight, and carrier status at quote time. Loose-cabin travel (dog on lap or seat) is permitted by most operators. Cats travel in a soft carrier. International sectors require pet passports, EU PETS scheme documentation, or equivalent; our Flight Desk confirms the arrival country's requirement at booking.
Complimentary tea, coffee, water, and a light snack selection on all flights. Full catering (breakfast, lunch, dinner, canapés, or bespoke menus) is priced at cost and ordered through the FBO's catering partner (Air Culinaire, Rudy's, Bagu, Vega Flight Services). We send a catering menu 24 hours before departure and finalise orders 12 hours out.
One-way trips include a positioning segment (empty repositioning back to the operator's base) and a daily minimum. Round-trips avoid the positioning cost on the return. For short stays (same-day or overnight), round-trips are almost always cheaper. For longer stays, one-way with an empty-leg return is often available on popular lanes (Teterboro-Palm Beach, London-Nice, Van Nuys-Aspen).
Under 25 hours per year: on-demand is almost always cheaper. 25 to 100 hours per year: a Signature Card with a fixed hourly rate, guaranteed availability, and capped positioning is the efficient structure. Over 100 hours per year: a Private Membership with dedicated lift, dedicated crew, and two-hour wheels-up guarantee delivers consistency and priority that the on-demand market cannot match.
Yes, for deposits over $250,000, via a regulated OTC desk. Settlement in USD, USDT, or USDC. We do not hold crypto on our balance sheet; the OTC counterparty converts to fiat on receipt. Compliance review (KYC / source-of-funds) runs in parallel with the standard contract signature and does not delay the flight.
ARGUS International rates charter operators on safety, pilot experience, aircraft maintenance, and historical incident data. Platinum is the highest rating (Gold, Gold Plus, Platinum). Our floor is Platinum wherever available and Gold Plus with Wyvern Wingman equivalency as a secondary standard. Approximately 12% of global charter operators hold Platinum; we filter to that subset.
Repositioning is the empty flight an aircraft runs to get into position for a paid booking, or return home after a one-way. We price positioning transparently on every quote. Empty legs (the resellable positioning sectors) are published publicly at 40-65% off the equivalent charter price, live-updated on our empty legs page.
US domestic private charter is subject to a 7.5% Federal Excise Tax on the hourly amount plus segment fees (approximately $5.20 per passenger per segment, indexed annually). International sectors are FET-exempt. FET is included in our indicative band and broken out separately on the firm quote line-item.
Card, wire, and crypto rails are all first-class. No surcharge on stablecoin settlement for international clients.
Credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, 3.5% card processing fee), SWIFT wire transfer (USD, EUR, GBP, CHF), SEPA (EUR within the Eurozone), Faster Payments (GBP within the UK). Same-day value for wires received before 2pm London time; next-day otherwise.
BTC (Bitcoin, typically 10 to 30 minutes to settle · 2 confirmations), ETH (Ethereum, 1 to 3 minutes · 12 confirmations), USDC (on Ethereum, Base, Polygon, Solana · 1 to 5 minutes), USDT (Ethereum, Tron, Polygon · 1 to 5 minutes), LTC (Litecoin, 3 to 5 minutes), BCH (Bitcoin Cash, 10 to 15 minutes), DAI (Ethereum, 1 to 3 minutes). Settlement via Coinbase Commerce hosted checkout; BTCPay Server self-hosted is available for custody-free clients who prefer not to pass through a third-party processor.
High-net-worth crypto-native buyers. Stablecoin settlement is instant and fee-efficient for international clients routing through non-correspondent banking jurisdictions. Full on-chain traceability satisfies regulatory-friendly compliance reviews. Private aviation buyers often settle in USDC or USDT rather than wire through multi-hop SWIFT channels that can take 3 business days and incur 30 to 150 USD in intermediary fees per hop.
Crypto payments are treated as property for US tax reporting (IRS Notice 2014-21) and as a barter transaction for VAT purposes (EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC as interpreted in Hedqvist, CJEU C-264/14). Sable Jets invoices in USD; your crypto payment converts to USD at time of receipt via the processor's exchange rate. Capital gains or losses on the disposed crypto are the Charterer's responsibility.
Sable Jets does not custody crypto on our balance sheet. Coinbase Commerce is a regulated MSB (FinCEN MSB Registration 31000210330404) with hosted checkout, we never see private keys or on-ramp flow. Self-hosted BTCPay Server is available on request for clients requiring custody-free settlement with no third-party KYC pass-through. Webhook confirmations are HMAC-SHA256 signed and verified server-side before a booking is marked confirmed.
Refunds are issued in the same token received, at the quantity received (not USD-adjusted), unless the Charterer explicitly requests USD refund. In the latter case, token volatility between receipt and refund is borne by the Charterer and documented on the refund invoice. Refund settles to the same wallet address the payment originated from unless a different address is provided in writing.
50% deposit at contract signature (industry standard for on-demand charter, matches VistaJet, XO, Flexjet). Balance due 48 hours before departure. For bookings inside 72 hours to departure, 100% of the contract value is payable upfront. Signature Card and Private Membership tiers have a 25% deposit schedule against their pre-funded hour block.