Charter guides
What's in a charter quote: the fees beyond the hourly rate.
The hourly rate gets the aircraft in the air. The rest of the quote pays for everything around the flight: the tax on the ticket, the airport at each end, the crew's night away, the flight that brings the aircraft to you. This is each line, what it pays for, and which ones you can change.
The short answer
Which fees are on nearly every charter quote?
Two lines appear on nearly every domestic US charter after the hourly rate: the 7.5% federal excise tax on the whole bill, and a segment fee of $5.30 per passenger for each leg flown in 2026. Everything else depends on the trip: where the aircraft starts, which airports you use, how many nights the crew is away. Ask for a total, then ask what it leaves out.
| Line | What it pays for | What it comes to |
|---|---|---|
| The flying | ||
| Hourly rate | The price per flight hour for the aircraft and crew, and usually the fuel, set by the size of aircraft. | From about $2,000 an hour for a turboprop to about $17,000 for an ultra-long-range jet. |
| Positioning | The hours the aircraft flies empty to reach your departure airport, and to get home after you land, billed like the trip itself. | Nothing if the aircraft is already where you are. Often the largest swing on a quote if it is not. |
| Daily minimum | The fewest hours an operator bills for any day you have the aircraft, however short the flight. | Commonly about 2 hours a day for light and midsize jets, more for large ones. |
| Fuel surcharge | An extra hourly charge some operators add when fuel prices rise, where it is not already inside the hourly rate. | Included in the rate by many operators, listed separately by others. |
| Taxes and government fees | ||
| Federal excise tax | A 7.5% federal tax on the amount paid for a domestic charter, including the empty positioning hours, crew costs and airport fees billed with it. | 7.5% of the whole bill. |
| Segment fee | A federal fee per passenger for each leg of a domestic flight, a leg being one takeoff and one landing. | $5.30 per passenger per leg in 2026. |
| International arrival and departure tax | A federal tax per passenger on a flight that starts or ends in the US, charged in place of the 7.5% on most international trips. | $23.40 per passenger per arrival or departure in 2026. |
| Customs and inspection fees | Per-passenger fees for customs, immigration and agriculture inspection when a charter lands in the US from abroad. | $7.61 customs, $7 immigration and $3.98 agriculture per passenger, from October 1, 2026. |
| At the airports | ||
| Landing fee | What the airport charges an aircraft to land, usually scaled by its weight. | Set by each airport. Small at a quiet regional field, far larger at a busy one. |
| Handling or facility fee | What the FBO charges to look after the aircraft and its passengers on the ground. | Set by each FBO, and often waived when the aircraft buys a set amount of fuel there. |
| Parking and hangar | Ramp space for an aircraft that stays overnight, or a hangar to keep it out of the weather. | Per night, set by the FBO or the airport. |
| Around the trip | ||
| Crew overnight | Hotel, meals and transport for the crew on each night your trip keeps them away from base. | One broker puts it at $200 to $600 per crew member per night. |
| De-icing | Fluid sprayed on the aircraft before a departure in freezing weather, billed by the FBO for what was used. | Depends on the weather and the size of the aircraft. Larger jets take more fluid. |
| Catering | Food and drink ordered for your flight, billed per order. | Whatever you order. Ask whether it is passed through at cost. |
| Wi-Fi | Internet on board, which some operators bill by the amount of data used. | Varies by aircraft. Ask before anyone starts streaming. |
Why is the tax charged on the empty flights?
Because the 7.5% is charged on the amount you pay for the charter, not on the hours you spend aboard. The IRS guide to this tax lists what counts, and it includes moving an empty aircraft to where it is needed or back to base, crew hotels and meals, waiting time, and landing and parking fees billed with the flight. So if positioning doubles the flying on a one-way trip, it doubles the tax on that flying too.
What changes on an international trip?
The tax. A flight between the US and anywhere abroad pays $23.40 per passenger for each arrival and departure in 2026, in place of the 7.5%. The exception is the strip of Canada and Mexico within 225 miles of the US. Flights into it, such as Minneapolis to Toronto, still pay the 7.5%. Landing back in the US adds per-passenger customs, immigration and agriculture fees, wherever the trip started. Mixed itineraries have their own rules, so check the tax lines on any quote that crosses a border.
Why does the FBO fee sometimes disappear?
Most FBOs that charge a handling or facility fee waive it when the aircraft buys a set amount of fuel there. On a charter the operator buys the fuel, so whether that waiver applies is between the operator and the FBO. It is one reason two FBOs on the same field can produce two different quotes. This is the half of the quote we work in every day, so if a handling line looks high, ask us about it.
What should a quote tell you before you sign?
US rules require a charter broker to tell you, before you contract, the name of the operator that will fly the trip, the role the broker is acting in, and whether it carries liability insurance for you and your passengers. If you ask, the broker also has to give you the total price including taxes and fees, and any fees you will pay someone else directly. Ask for all of it in writing.
TWO NUMBERS TO KNOW BY HEART
7.5% of the whole bill, and $5.30 per passenger per leg. On a domestic quote, if a total does not include both, it is not the total.
What does the flying itself cost?
Hourly rates by aircraft size, real route prices, and a one-way trip added up line by line.
Private jet charter cost →Get a quote with every line shown
Send the route, the date and how many are flying. Each option we send back lists the taxes and fees rather than adding them later.
Get a charter quote →Sources
Gathered in October 2026. Market prices and fee estimates are other people's published figures, not our quotes. Federal tax and fee rates are the government's own.
- US Code, 26 U.S.C. 4261, tax on transportation of persons by airCurrentThe 7.5% federal excise tax and the segment fee.
- IRS, Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.44Rates for calendar year 2026The 2026 segment fee and international arrival and departure tax.
- IRS, Air Transportation Excise Tax Audit Techniques GuideRevised April 2008What the 7.5% applies to on a charter bill, including empty positioning flights.
- US Customs and Border Protection, CBP Dec. 26-14, Federal RegisterJuly 31, 2026, effective October 1, 2026The customs fee per arriving passenger.
- US Code, 8 U.S.C. 1356, immigration user feesCurrentThe immigration fee per arriving passenger.
- USDA APHIS, Agricultural Quarantine Inspection international air passenger feeEffective October 1, 2026The agriculture inspection fee per arriving passenger.
- Aviation Consumer, Does FBO price gouging need FAA intervention?February 21, 2018That FBOs commonly waive facility fees with a fuel purchase.
- eCFR, 14 CFR Part 295, air charter brokersCurrentWhat a broker must tell you before you book.
- Paramount Business Jets, Private Jet Rental CostUpdated August 2026Daily minimums and the crew overnight estimate.
Private jet charter
Know the route and the date?
Send them and we'll come back with aircraft and a price. Or call the desk, which is staffed around the clock.
Airplane Handling is an air charter broker. We are not a direct air carrier and do not have operational control of any aircraft. Every charter flight we arrange is operated by a properly licensed direct air carrier, which holds operational control of the flight.