What is a charter? Is it a plane, type of flight or contract? Why are charter tickets sometimes twice cheaper than regular flights? What risks threaten us when we decide to fly to the resort with such an aircraft? You will learn about the secrets of pricing for charter flights by reading this article. We will try to reveal the logic of such agreements. But the most useful information that ordinary travelers are interested in knowing is whether it is possible to buy a ticket for a charter without purchasing a ticket from a tour operator. We will also try to debunk a number of myths about such flights.
Origin of the term
Charter is a word in the English Merchant Shipping Dictionary. The British Empire was in constant contact with numerous colonies. But merchant companies were even more interested in delivering their goods overseas. They did not have their own ships. So they just started hiring. This cooperation between the captain of the ship and the trading house became known as freight. The parties entered into an agreement - a charter. He could be on one flight(sigle-trip) or for a specific time (time-charter).
Later, the charter contract became a term not only for shipping. It began to be used in air traffic. In addition, the meaning of the word "charters" has ceased to concern only freight traffic. Passenger seats on board became the object of the freight.
Gradually, the original meaning of the term "charter" - the contract - was lost. In other languages, it received a different semantic load: a passenger ship (or part of it) rented from a carrier company to make flights planned by the charterer. In the modern world, the word "charter" in most cases means aircraft. Therefore, we will use the term in this sense.
Types of freight contract
We have already considered what charters are, now we will study what they are. In addition to the main division - into cargo and passenger, such freight contracts indicate how long or how many trips they are. There are charter flights. According to the agreement, the airline makes available to the charterer (called the consolidator) an aircraft and crew. Thus, the filling of passenger seats and, consequently, the responsibility for the fact that the cost of the flight pays off, lies entirely on the shoulders of the lessee company. They are travel companies. Most often they cooperate in order to avoid the risks of incomplete filling of the cabin. Such flights operate according to the "shuttle" system: the plane brings tourists to the resort and immediately picks up those who have expiredvouchers. In contrast, there is such a thing as a “suck charter”. This is when the plane is waiting for the passengers brought by it at the airport. Such flights are practiced on weekends and holidays.
Why charter tickets are cheaper
Now consider the pricing process. In regular flights, carrier companies are already laying risks for possibly unsold tickets. The charter is usually 100% full. The skillful marketing policy of travel companies practices such attractive promotions for tourists as early booking, "last minute" tours, discount cards for regular users and, finally, "last minute". Thus, it turns out that passengers who have gathered on the same board have tickets of different prices. For some companies, airfare is included in the tour price. Others travel on their own, but they bought tickets not at ordinary ticket offices, but through a travel agency, as they say, “hooked on a charter”. The fact that the aircraft is chartered by several companies at once guarantees the full loading of the board. And if there are still few passengers, a smaller plane is served for landing. Therefore, there is no risk. Therefore, charter flights are often cheaper than regular ones. Although this is not always the case.
Legal
What should a passenger buying a ticket for a charter flight need to know? Firstly, the fact that with this purchase he concludes an agreement not with an airline, but with a travel agency. The tickets look the same, and if everything goes well, you won't feel any difference. But if you want to cancel the tour, the airfare is not refundable. They are also non-refundable or non-refundable.
Cheap charters often have fixed dates. Such flights may be late because they fly in the "time windows" between regular travel. That is, those aircraft that are indicated in the schedule use the prerogative on the runway. This circumstance should be taken into account when you are waiting for a connecting flight. The airline does not bear any responsibility for the delay of the vessel. But in some cases, you can take a ticket for such a plane with an open return date (subject to reserving a seat for a certain period).
Charter Schedule
The movement of such flights is very irregular. During the "high season", which can last from two to six months, charter flights are very frequent. Then their number noticeably decreases, and in some areas disappears altogether. Only regular flights remain. Travel companies can buy only part of the cabin from the air carrier. But the plane still flies on a scheduled regular route, while charter flights land directly at resort airports. For example, you can fly to Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey in winter only by purchasing a ticket from a carrier company. Often, planes land in Athens and Istanbul, while during the charter season you can go directly to Crete, Kos, Burgas or Antalya. The schedule for such aircraft is displayed on the scoreboard at the airport. Howevercharter flights are irregular. Therefore, they are not in the list of departures and arrivals of airlines.
The myth and its debunking
Since charter tickets are often cheaper than regular flights (sometimes by 2-3 times), people who do not understand anything about pricing begin to build idle conjectures. Say, they give old, worn-out cars, which crash almost twice a third. It is not true. The charterer rents conventional aircraft that also operate regular flights. The type of car is determined the day before departure, when the number of tickets sold becomes clear. But this does not affect the safety of the flight. Without exception, all cars are checked by the technical service at the airport, they are all equipped in the same way. For example, Transaero charters use such wonderful aircraft as Tu-204-100C, Tu-214, Airbus A320neo, Boeing 777, 747, 767 and 737. Aeroflot takes Tu-154 aircraft for its irregular flights, IL-86. Very comfortable Tu-154Ms fly to Western Europe.
Debunking the second myth: a charter is not a low cost
The saying “Cheap is never good” defines the expectations of passengers from the service on a non-scheduled flight. Do not forget that the principle of total savings on everything (except for flight safety, of course) is practiced only in the so-called "low-cost airlines". There, tickets are really "cheaper than dirt." But on the other hand, there is not only a business class compartment, but also fixed seats, meals and the ability to refuse the purchased ticket. Passengers fill the cabin like a bus, -sit in empty seats. Food (drinks and snacks) is offered for a fee.
In charters, the level of service depends on the airline. Some do not want to deviate from the standards adopted in regular flights. But there are also such airlines that completely give passenger service to the charterer. On such aircraft, there may be no business class, and meals are reduced to a sandwich and salad set without alcohol.
How to buy charter tickets
It's not as easy as it looks. Since the plane is leased to consolidating firms, tickets for it should not be sought at the box office, but from these same travel agencies. Those, in turn, are interested in including as many of their services as possible to customers. This includes the whole package: ground transfer, hotel accommodation, meals, excursions. But every year the share of independent tourists becomes more and more noticeable in the tourist market. All they want from the charterer is to “get hooked on a charter”. The aircraft is completed in this way: the main part of the passengers are those who have purchased vouchers. If you plan your vacation in advance, the company will offer you to buy the entire tour or charge you the same price for a ticket as for regular flights. The purchase is profitable only when no other planes fly in this direction. For example, there are no regular flights to Hurghada or Goa.
When to buy cheap tickets
The closer the departure date, the more expensive seats on a regular flight. On charters, there is a completely opposite trend. After chartering an entire plane, charterers get nervous if the cabin fills up slowly. And they are completely panicked when there are three or two days left before departure. Companies are ready to sell plane seats already without any tour packages and even below cost in order to gain at least something. This is where you need to "forge iron." True, so you run the risk of not flying at all. Indeed, in the high season, the salons are filled to the very eyeballs. But it doesn't matter. Most travel agencies on the site have a section "Ticket Exchange". On it you can see offers for destinations, where specific departure dates and prices are indicated. The last figure changes frequently.
