Questions
Everything people ask before the first flight
If your question is not here, message us — a person answers, usually within 15 minutes, and no question is too basic to ask.
Booking and flying
How the process runs, what it costs and what to expect at the airport.
- How quickly can you find me a private jet?
- Usually within 15 minutes, at any hour. Send the route, the date and the number of passengers, and you get back concrete aircraft with an all-in price. If the route needs a landing permit — Saudi Arabia and India are the common cases — availability comes back in minutes but the permit itself can take 24 to 48 hours, and we will say so in the first reply rather than after you have paid.
- Do you own the aircraft?
- No. Fifteen Jets is an air charter brokerage, not an airline or an operator. We do not own or operate aircraft. We source them from certified operators and are paid a broker's commission that is already included in the price you are quoted — you never receive a second invoice from us.
- How do you make money?
- A commission on the charter, included in the price we quote. The number you see is the number you pay: no booking fee, no card surcharge, no crypto premium, no fuel surcharge added later. If a price changes because you change the trip, we show you the operator’s revised figure.
- How much does it cost to charter a private jet?
- Roughly $3,200–$4,800 per flight hour on a light jet, $6,000–$8,500 on a super-midsize, $8,000–$11,500 on a heavy jet and $12,000–$18,000 on an ultra-long-range aircraft, plus ground handling at both ends. A short European hop such as London to Nice typically lands between $14,000 and $25,000; Dubai to London on a heavy jet is usually $65,000 to $105,000. Prices move with where the aircraft happens to be that week, which is why we quote a real number per request rather than a rate card.
- What is an empty leg flight?
- An empty leg is a repositioning flight an aircraft has to make anyway — flying empty to collect its next passengers, or home after a drop-off. Operators sell those seats at 25% to 75% below a normal charter. The trade-off is rigidity: the route, date and often the departure window are fixed by someone else’s trip, and the flight can be cancelled if the original charter changes.
- How far in advance do I need to book?
- Four to six hours is usually enough for a domestic or intra-European leg if an aircraft is already positioned nearby. Intercontinental flights need longer for crew duty time, overflight and landing permits. The genuine constraints are seasonal: Nice and Ibiza in July, Geneva in ski season, and Riyadh at any time because of permit lead times.
- How early do I need to arrive at the airport?
- Fifteen minutes before departure at a private terminal, and often less. There is no check-in desk and no security queue. On international departures passport control happens at the FBO, usually in under five minutes. At many airports your car can drive to the aircraft steps.
- How much luggage can I take?
- Baggage is limited by volume, not by piece count — around 50 cubic feet on a light jet and 115 on a heavy jet. Skis, golf bags and oversized cases are fine but must be declared when you request the quote, because they can change which aircraft works. Weight matters on long legs: a full cabin plus heavy baggage can shorten range enough to add a fuel stop.
- Can I bring my dog into the cabin?
- Yes. Pets travel in the cabin with you on almost all charter aircraft, with no crate requirement and no cargo hold. The constraints are the operator’s policy and the destination country’s import rules — the UK, for example, requires an approved route and documentation regardless of aircraft. Tell us the species, size and destination when you request the quote and we filter to operators who accept them.
- Am I talking to a person or a bot?
- A person. One broker handles your request from the first message to wheels-up, in Telegram, by email or through the request form, and you keep the same contact for the next trip. There is no call-centre queue, no automated sequence and no account manager handover.
- Who sees my itinerary?
- Your broker, and the operator flying you — that is all. We do not sell or share passenger data, we do not add you to marketing sequences, and we do not publish or resell itineraries. Operators receive only the passenger details aviation authorities require them to hold.
- Can you move a large group — a team, a crew, a wedding party?
- Yes. Above roughly 16 passengers the aircraft moves from a business jet to a VIP airliner such as an ACJ319 or a BBJ, which carry 18 to 50 people in a private configuration. For a sports team or a film crew the deciding factor is usually baggage and equipment volume rather than seat count, so send the equipment list with the request.
Paying
Methods, timing, and what happens to your money if a flight does not go.
- Can I pay for a private jet with Bitcoin or USDT?
- Yes. We accept Bitcoin and USDT on TRC-20 and ERC-20 for the full charter price, with no crypto surcharge. You receive the wallet address only after the aircraft is confirmed, so you know the operator and the tail number before any money moves. The USD amount is fixed on the invoice and held for 30 minutes against the exchange rate.
- What payment methods do you accept?
- Card, SWIFT and SEPA bank transfer, Bitcoin, USDT (TRC-20 and ERC-20), and cash on departure where local law permits it. There is no account to open and no compliance onboarding to complete before you can request a quote — identity checks happen once, on the flight you actually book.
- When do I have to pay, and what do I get first?
- Nothing is charged until you have the aircraft in writing. Before you pay we send the operator name, the tail number, the aircraft type and year, and the operator’s safety rating. Payment follows that confirmation, and flight documents arrive within the hour. For crypto payments we wait for one network confirmation on domestic legs and three on international ones.
- What happens to my money if the flight is cancelled?
- If the operator cancels or the aircraft goes technical, you are refunded in full through the same channel you paid, or we place you on a replacement aircraft — your choice. If you cancel, the operator’s cancellation terms apply; those terms are shown to you in writing before you pay, not buried afterwards. Crypto refunds are returned in the same asset at the original invoiced USD value.
Safety and operators
Who is responsible for the flight and how to verify them yourself.
- How do you check that an operator is safe?
- Every flight is operated by a company holding a valid air operator certificate in its own jurisdiction. We check that certificate, the operator’s insurance cover, and its third-party safety rating — ARGUS, Wyvern or IS-BAO — before offering the aircraft, and we show you the operator name and rating before you pay so you can verify it yourself.
- What do ARGUS, Wyvern and IS-BAO actually mean?
- They are independent audits, not regulators. ARGUS grades operators Gold, Gold Plus or Platinum based on pilot experience, accident history and, at the higher tiers, an on-site audit. Wyvern Wingman requires an on-site audit and continuous data reporting. IS-BAO is an IBAC standard focused on the operator’s safety management system, with three progressive stages. None of them replaces the national aviation authority’s certificate — they sit on top of it.