Charters are charter flights that are booked by a tour operator or entity based on a lease agreement. When tourist agency intends to send tourists to some resort or city where regular airlines do not fly, then in this case the travel agency needs to rent a plane from the airline itself. Most charter flights operate during the summer months, when the beach season opens. If regular flights were launched in these directions, the airlines would have to operate at a loss, since no one would fly in the winter to places where it is “out of season.”
Types of charters
Split- combined flight, when one leg of the journey takes place on a regular flight.
shuttle- this is when an aircraft constantly delivers and picks up new air passengers.
Poly- this is when passengers change aircraft several times.
Charter sucks- this is when an aircraft delivers tourists to their destination, waits for them, and then returns back with them.
Details about charter flights
Charter flights are operated by different airlines, even those that operate regular flights, so the service on charter flights will be no worse than on regular flights of the same airline.
Charters are not low-cost airlines, so the cost of charter tickets includes hand luggage, baggage and meals. Everything is exactly the same as on regular flights. But on low-cost airlines you only buy a flight, and everything else is paid extra, since not everyone carries luggage and not everyone wants to pay for food on short flights.
Charters are the same regular flights, only rented by a tour operator during the peak tourist season.
Which airlines operate charter flights?
Almost all Russian airlines operate charter flights. Some more, some less. There are those that specialize in charter flights, but also operate regular flights.
Charter airlines in Russia
Charter airlines of Ukraine
(Ukraine International Airlines)
Azur Air Ukraine (Azur Air Ukraine)
Wind Rose
UTair Ukraine
Bravoavia
Aero-Charter
Mars RK (Mars RK)
Motor Sich Airlines (Motor Sich Airline)
Air Urga
Business Aviation Center
Tavrey Airlines (Tavria Airline)
Challenge Aero
UM Air (Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines)
Yuzhmashavia (Yuzhmashavia)
Khors Aircompany
How to buy air tickets for charter flights
You can search for air tickets for charter flights using a search engine, but not earlier than one week before departure. There is no guarantee that free tickets for charters will go on sale, since most of them are sold by travel agencies. They sell tours that already include charter flights. If there are still empty seats on the plane, then air tickets for them go on sale at airline agencies. You can wait until the last minute, but air tickets will not appear.
The best chance of buying charter tickets is to look for them at the beginning and end of the season, and not at the very peak, when the bulk of tourists fly.
To buy the cheapest air tickets for charters, you need to buy them there and back with a return return exactly 14 days later, since the majority of trips are designed specifically for this term.
The advantage of charter flights over regular flights
The closer the departure, the cheaper the air tickets will be, since it is important to sell all the plane tickets.
Most often, air tickets for charters are significantly cheaper than for regular flights, if they exist on this route.
Charters fly to beautiful cities and resorts where there are no regular flights.
When traveling abroad, people have the opportunity to fly on regular and charter flights. Some are more expensive and reliable from a scheduling point of view, others are more subject to transfers and changes, but with them you can save a lot. Chartered flight- What is this? Let's figure it out.
What does this mean?
Many vacationers are familiar with charter flights and prefer to plan their vacation with the help of travel agencies.
The difference from regular flights is significant, both in price and quality.
What does a charter flight mean?
When a person buys a ticket for regular flight, both the carrier and the person responsible are one airline. A charter flight becomes when a third party contacts the carrier and takes the aircraft on a so-called lease, that is, charters it.
This is often done large travel companies, selling trips to the same region a large number of people. It is beneficial for them that their clients fly from point A to point B as quickly as possible and with fewer transfers.
You can purchase a ticket for a regular flight using this search form. Specify cities of departure and arrival, date And number of passengers.
It could also be an external company that wants earn money on seasonal flights. For example, in the summer season, out of many regional centers Charter flights are carried out to and Egypt, thanks to which passengers do not need to change planes at other airports, and the company chartering the plane will be able to earn money due to the high popularity of such a flight.
How is it different from regular regular?
It is not so easy to distinguish charters from regular flights at first glance. Regular flights are carried out with great comfort, have a number of different tariffs, and clients often participate in bonus programs.
They often save on servicing charter flights; the level of service can be significantly lower than on regular ones.
It also happens that there is no distribution of seats in the cabin by class; for chartering, the carrier can provide an aircraft from an outdated fleet with a cabin less comfortable for passengers. The flight will still be safe, but less convenient.
One more feature is that charter flights are often carried by people who will be vacationing in the same hotel or in the same area. Regular transportation is used by those passengers who, after arrival, can go to other cities for work or personal matters.
You can find out and understand whether a flight is a charter or a regular one only at the point of purchase. A person independently purchases a ticket for a charter flight can not. As a rule, tickets are included in a travel package and are purchased through a tour operator. You cannot purchase charter tickets through the airline's website.
In addition, even if transportation is carried out by a certain airline, but the flight is chartered by a third party, it will not be on the website of this airline. You can find out the departure time only from the tour operator or on the airport’s electronic board per day before departure.
Charter Features
Charter flights will appeal to those who make short flights and prefer to save money, albeit at the expense of other factors. Before your trip, you should weigh all the pros and cons for yourself in order to accurately determine whether a charter is suitable for a particular traveler or not.
Advantages
Benefits charter flights are:
- Low price on , and the closer to departure, the lower the cost;
- Additional maximum convenient routes. Regular flights require more serious coordination, while charter flights are often opened for one season or only for a few trips, but allow you to avoid unnecessary transfers;
- If the charter flight is significantly delayed, the tour operator will be able to shift travel days.
Why are charters cheaper? Regular flights operate even when the cabin is half full, while charter flights operate only when tickets are sold at maximum capacity, so last days before departure the price may drop significantly.
Flaws
Cons much bigger:
- With active traffic flow, if the departure is delayed for technical or other reasons, then the next time the plane will be able to take off at last resort. The air traffic controller will first skip regular flights that are subject to a strict schedule;
- For chartering, they often use salons only with economic and with a minimum amount of free legroom;
- Departures and arrivals of charter flights regularly are detained, much more often than regular ones;
- Passenger myself must check departure times and schedule changes or rely on the good faith of the tour operator.
If you are traveling with a child, then read at what age do children need a separate seat.
Flight
Charter flights are carried out by both small airlines specializing in this and large carriers. You can check the departure of such a flight a day before departure on the airport website or by calling the tour operator.
Which companies provide transportation?
Charter flights can be operated by any airline, depending on how third parties negotiate with them. Individual vessels can charter y:
- Air France;
- Belavia;
- Aeroflot;
- Transaero;
- Lot;
- Finn Air and etc.
There are also airlines that operate only charter flights. Russians are best known I FLY, which works with the largest domestic tourism operator TEZ TOUR. Flights are carried out to the most popular destinations for Russians: Türkiye, Spain, Italy and.
Another major charter carrier is Red Wings Airlines, which specializes in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions.
How to check in and check departure?
The departure of a charter flight can only be checked in advance at the travel company where the person purchased the tickets or voucher. To do this, one day before the departure date you need call manager and find out exact time departures.
Another way is to go to the airport website and check electronic scoreboard, but a person must know for sure at least the flight number. Online registration for charters is generally not available. In order to register, you need to arrive at the airport and go to the appropriate check-in counter.
There are exceptions when small air carriers allow their passengers to check in online.
Algorithm online registration for charter flights:
- go to website airlines;
- select tab "online registration";
- enter booking code or the ticket number and the passenger’s last name in Latin, which was indicated when purchasing the ticket;
- choose on board the plane in the window that appears (if the booking was made by one person, but for several passengers, then you can take several seats);
- then you need confirm choice and receive your boarding pass by email;
- You need your own boarding pass print on the printer.
At the airport building, all you need to do is check your luggage at the check-in counter and present your boarding pass before boarding the plane. The electronic registration method is quite convenient, but only certain airlines that provide charter flights allow its use. In most cases, electronic registration unavailable.
Look video about the features of charter flights:
Some airline tickets arrive at email immediately after purchase, while others must be received before departure (a day or even a few hours before). And this is not the only difference between regular and charter flights. The Village learned about the features of both and compared prices on popular destinations.
Regular flights
These are regular airline flights that operate according to a pre-approved schedule. Carriers themselves decide how to fill planes and sell tickets themselves or through their agents. That is why tickets, which contain all the information about the flight (date, time, direction), about the airline and about you, can be obtained immediately after payment.
pros
They fly according to a schedule, so even if the airline has sold a minimum number of tickets for your flight, you will be taken to your destination.
The departure time is fixed - you can plan transfers to other flights and your vacation.
Flexible fare system depending on the amount of baggage, class, possibility of ticket return and other factors.
There are no restrictions on purchasing one-way tickets.
Minuses
Limited number of flights per destination.
Small coverage of destinations: regular flights do not fly to all cities and countries.
Charter flights
These are special charter flights. The customers are mainly travel agencies that enter into aircraft charter agreements (or air charter agreements) with airlines. They buy the entire plane or part of it to operate one or several flights, and then sell tickets themselves and create passenger lists. Therefore, when purchasing a ticket for such a plane, it is worth remembering that you are only guaranteed the departure date and flight direction, but the departure time may change.
pros
Direct flights only.
Rare destinations with no regular flights.
Changing the name on a ticket is free or with a minimal penalty, since final passenger lists are generated before departure.
Minuses
The absence of a fixed and guaranteed departure time and, therefore, the inability to plan a transfer.
Only non-refundable tickets: taxes and fees cannot be refunded, as in the case of regular flights.
Final information about the air carrier often becomes known only when tickets are received.
Charters generally do not participate in airline rewards programs.
When problems are possible
Some countries have a rule that requires you to arrive and leave the country on the same type of flight. That is, if you arrived on a charter flight, then you should fly away on it. The same applies to regular flights. In the Kingdom of Thailand, such a requirement arises from national aviation regulations and requirements, which are monitored at passport control. In India, customs authorities may sometimes deny entry to a departure flight if it is different from the arrival flight. This is especially acute at Goa airports.
Problems with departure are also possible in the event of financial difficulties for tour operators, when they are forced to cancel flights due to the inability to pay for them.
How different are the prices?
Prices may be lower for charters since the airline sells the entire seat capacity to the customer at a wholesale price. And then, if the customer is underloaded on the flight, he can put the tickets on free sale at a lower price. But it all depends on the demand for a particular destination, that is, the cheapness of charters is not a systemic thing.
The cheaper it is to fly to the sea now
Destination and date
charter flight, rubles
regular flight, rubles
Moscow - Simferopol
13,570 RUBLES
(“VIM-Avia”)
13,030 RUBLES
("Ural Airlines")
Moscow - Sochi
Forrest Gump's mom said, "Charters are like a box. chocolates. You never know what's inside." Of course, this didn’t happen in the film, but the essence was conveyed correctly. Many have not yet figured out their relationship with charters. Do they feed you there or should you take the chicken with you? Why is the price so low, is it a conspiracy? Will we take off at all or not?
What does "charter flight" mean?
To understand, let’s first discuss the terms:
Charter flight is a flight that is ordered by a tour operator or other legal entity on the basis of a rental (charter) agreement.
Now for an example. Let's say a travel agency wants to send a group of very tired people on vacation to the Italian province. And make money from it. But here's the problem - there are no regular flights from Russia, because the destination is interesting only in certain months, and the rest of the time you would have to work at a loss.
Then a travel agency (usually there are several of them) rents a plane from the airline for the season and sends tourists for new photos on Instagram.
What types of charters are there?
- Split is a combined flight when part of the route is covered by a regular flight.
- Shuttle - the plane constantly delivers and picks up new passengers.
- Poly - passengers change plane several times.
- A charter that sucks - the plane brings tourists to their destination, waits, and then returns back with them.
Charter flights: popular misconceptions
We went through blogs and articles written by real visionaries to see what they thought about charters.
Now we will explain it expertly.
But it's not just about the chairs. Don't expect the same service as a regular flight on a cheap charter flight.
Any airline can operate a charter flight. And the softness of the blanket, the red lipstick of the flight attendant and the taste tomato juice will be exactly the same as when flying on a regular flight of this carrier.
In charter flights, a Boeing 737 Classic from 1990 is considered a quite decent car - in the sense that airlines try to put the most damaged sides on such flights (which, however, does not affect the speed and safety of the flight).
Only one thing is true here - the “shakyness” of an airplane does not affect how quickly and safely it flies. Nobody likes taking tourists on old boats. Such planes need to be monitored, repaired, and blued. Who cares?
If you buy a ticket yourself, and not through a tour operator, then be prepared for the fact that you can buy it several days before departure, and if the plane is not full, the flight may not take place.
If you paid for the ticket, no one will refuse you the flight. They will simply reschedule, replace the plane, or even the carrier. And replacement is not always the worst option. Actually, regular flights can also be cancelled; charters do not have any special provisions.
There is usually no food on charters. Or they feed you, but it’s worse than on regular flights. The travel agency will try to save money on everything. You won't get free alcohol on board this plane either. This also applies to soft pillows, warm blankets, newspapers and other comfort items. Of course, it all depends on the level of the charter, but usually many amenities are missing.
Another common nonsense is to confuse a charter and a low-cost airline. A low-cost airline is a service designer. The ticket is very cheap, and all other amenities (hand luggage, food, etc.) are paid separately. They don't have blankets or candies on takeoff. But you can fly to Berlin for almost a piece of gum, half a banana and a couple of coins. Charters are regular flights simply chartered by a third party.
Which airlines operate charter flights?
Yes, almost everything: Aeroflot, Ural Airlines, S7, Yakutia, Utair, NordStar Airlines, Rusline, etc.
Charter airlines in Russia:
- I FLY - works with TEZ TOUR and flies from Vnukovo to Turkey, Spain, Egypt, Italy and Thailand.
- Pegasus Fly- operates charter flights to cities in Europe, Asia and Africa.
- Red Wings Airlines - flies from Domodedovo to Spain, Greece, Egypt, etc.
- Azur Air - works with Anex Tour.
- Royal flight - works with Coral Travel and transports tourists to popular tourist cities: Goa, Barcelona, Sharm el-Sheikh, Antalya, etc.
- Nordwind - carries out air transportation in European countries and to popular resorts in the World.
Despite the fact that the companies are charter, some also have regular flights throughout Russia.
Versus: charter or regular flight
About tickets for charter flights
- Start searching no earlier than a week before departure.
- Even Globa will not be able to predict whether tickets will appear on the date you need. There is a risk that you will wait until the last minute and there will be no tickets. Here's a hint: your chances of snagging a ticket are higher at the end and beginning of the season.
- It is cheaper to fly back exactly 2 weeks later, since almost all tours are designed for this period.
- Tickets for charter flights are also available in VK groups, however, there are more scammers there than good offers.
What travelers say about charters
For travelers, monitoring charters is like rummaging through a junk dealer's flea market. Basically all rubbish, but with enough patience you can dig up a real pearl: I flew to Bulgaria for 900 rubles and to India for a little more than 2 thousand. So I advise you to monitor charters - there is always a chance to fly somewhere almost for free or find amazing destinations. For example, you can get directly from Moscow to Spitsbergen only by charter, which is chartered by the Arktikugol company for its employees in Barentsburg, but anyone can buy a ticket.
I often fly charters within Europe. I don’t feel any particular discomfort from this :) For me, the main thing is to get to Right place on time and don’t overpay for it (especially when the flight is 1-2 hours), whether it’s a regular flight or a charter, I don’t see much of a difference. It is important that the above criteria are present. I heard that charters often have delays in departure time, but I was lucky in this regard - I feel like the probability of a delay is the same as on regular flights. Some French people will block the sky, and you’ll already be sitting on the plane for 3-4 hours waiting for departure :) In addition, some cities can only be reached on such flights.
I rarely fly charter flights, but I had such experience with Ukrainian tour operators. Typically, such flights are organized by special airlines, which often do not operate regular flights.
From what I have noticed, the level of service on such flights is lower, and the flight time can be postponed regardless of objective indicators - weather or airport congestion. I know stories when flights were postponed for a day. It is impossible to influence this, so you can only hope that everything will go according to schedule.
All this is a small problem, because you are flying on a pre-arranged vacation, so the anticipation of the vacation smooths out all the inconveniences. Plus, the cost of a tour with flights included is very attractive, you don’t have to waste time choosing tickets, everything was decided for you.
In addition, I know that tickets for charter flights can be purchased separately from the tour. They are not easy to find, but the price is much lower than standard flights. True, I have never succeeded in this - I usually fly for 3-4 days, and charters involve 7-10 days in the country.
It’s difficult to compare, since there is not much difference for me between flying a charter flight and a regular one. It’s important for me to just get from one point to another.
I recommend that my subscribers pay attention to both types of flights and do not exclude charters. I repeat, there are no tangible differences - the same plane, flies the same. But charter flights may have a low price - this is important when you are planning a trip yourself and have a limited budget.
I just look for tickets in specialized search services and don’t deliberately look for charters. I don’t even remember seeing a note somewhere stating that the flight was regular or charter. The main thing when you are looking for a ticket is to look at the price calendar for the month (this is a very useful thing) and choose the departure date with the lowest ticket price, if you are not tied to specific numbers.
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For travelers beginner level and elementary is perhaps the most shining example, when you seem to understand what we are talking about, but you cannot give an exact definition (in fact, you don’t even know it) - this is the concept of a “charter flight”.
Of all the variety of associations, only “cheap” arises - which is justified, and “flight delay/cancellation” - but this smacks of prejudice. Be that as it may, this good way to save money, so let’s figure out: where, when and why should we buy cheap charter tickets and can we rely on them?
Initially, a charter flight was something of a private order, based on the requirements of the client, not the airline. Now charter flights are associated with tour operators or organized large groups that, on the basis of a contract, buy from the airline and use its services for a certain period (for example, during the tourist season).
It’s almost like a taxi: a route is chosen in advance and it is assumed how many people will go, then seats are booked. The task of the “taxi driver” is to perform only the technical part - transportation (i.e., flight). After the clients (that is, tourists) are delivered, the “taxi driver” picks up other people nearby (loads those who are already rested) and takes them back.
Such a flight, by the way, is called a “shuttle charter,” but there are also “split charters”: part of the journey takes place on a regular (regular) airliner, then there is a transfer, and the charter one flies. This happens in small towns, from where it is impossible to go directly to the other side of the world; This is why a large transfer hub is needed.
Charters “specialize” in mass and seasonal resorts/departures. For example, there is no direct flight from Kazan to Rhodes. But there is a summer charter, tied to tour operators, which transports tourists to the island twice a week without transfers :) If you are lucky, you can catch only the flight.
Prices for charter tickets depend on the occupancy of the plane: the more empty seats, the cheaper the ticket. For example, you can fly from Moscow to Barcelona for 6,700 rubles (departure is expected in 2 days). Kazan-Rhodes-Kazan – 10,200 rubles!
Where do we look for cheap tours and air tickets?
It's no secret how to buy a plane ticket. Aggregators, of course, such as Skyscanner and OneTwoTrip. However, the “charter flight” instructions cannot be found there; alas, they are tailored for traditional flights.
Since charters are purchased by tour operators, it makes sense to look for tours as well. Sometimes they come out cheaper prices for air tickets (regular). Moreover, individual tickets without a voucher appear just a few days before departure and are immediately sorted out by “hunters” who do not forget to watch day and night :)
We book tours on 3 well-known online search engines (we compare which is more profitable):
They monitor offers from 120+ tour operators and are able to detect promotional and last-minute tours or suggest when it’s cheaper to fly.
It’s one thing to snag charter tickets, and quite another to find inexpensive accommodation for these dates. Therefore, going on a tour is often easier and cheaper (especially for popular “package” destinations - Turkey, Greece, Spain, etc.).
How to buy a ticket for a charter flight without a voucher? Instructions
And yet, how to buy a ticket for charters without a tour?
Just six months ago, we would have had to send you to sophisticated and understandable only to travel agents (and are they reliable?) sites like chartergow.ru. Today, the Aviasales service has surpassed the above-mentioned aggregators in terms of functionality and now catches not only regular flights, but also charters!
Before you go searching, keep in mind that tickets become available no earlier than a week before departure. This is because the tour operator sells them in case of need to fill seats.
- Visit Aviasales
- Enter the desired city (or to be sure - Moscow), direction, dates and click “find tickets”
- Trust in fortune...
- Charter flights, when available, are shown as the cheapest and marked
✓ Tour durations are typically 7, 10 and 14 days and charters will follow approximately this schedule
✓ A feed with dates and prices along the top edge helps you navigate low-cost flights
✓ To double-check, you can put a filter on Aviasales in the “AGENCIES” tab on Clickavia, ChaBuka and Sindbad (they work with charters)
Charter airlines flying from Russia
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Azur Air charter flight (our tour to Dubai)
Not all airlines welcome the charter system. But those who are “in business” take travelers to places where regular flights are not announced :) These may be hard-to-reach or too exotic places, where there are few people willing to fly, but the occupancy of the cabin should be maximum. And only charters can do this.
Companies flying from Russia (from Moscow and regions) for 2019:
Which countries do charter flights fly to?
- Bulgaria
- Greece
- Spain
- Italy
- Czech
- Türkiye
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- India
- Morocco
- Tunisia
- Mexico
- Vietnam
- Sri Lanka
If you see charter flights to Turkey (one of the carriers presented above is flying), immediately look at tours for these dates (for example). 99% that the trip will be more profitable than booking tickets and hotels on your own.
Differences between charters and regular flights
1) Important: be prepared that the charter will be “turned around as they want”! The airport of departure (was Domodedovo, now Vnukovo) and arrival (was Phuket, now Krabi) may be changed - which, however, happens much less often than rescheduling a flight. For half an hour or a day forward or backward... This, of course, insidiously eats up or generously adds days of rest.
Let us note that our relations with charters have not yet been spoiled by long delays; much more often we “got into trouble” with regular flights.
2) You can buy tickets for charters no earlier than a week in advance. If it is cheaper to buy a ticket for a regular flight several months in advance, then the charter ticket will drop to a minimum closer to departure (if seats are “available”).
3) The ticket itself arrives by mail the day before departure, but no later than 24 hours before. Yes, it’s strange, you pay and wait 5 days, but those are the rules.
4) Charter tickets cannot be returned or exchanged. And online booking (i.e. asking to “hold” and redeem in a couple of days) does not work here.
5) Regular aircraft have advantages in the airspace: in case of delays, they are released onto the runway first.
Pros and cons of charters
Charters are good because:
- no transfers
- flight from hard-to-reach regions to destinations where regular flights do not fly (without connections)
- low cost
- there is no gradation by class in the salon... equality, friendship, chewing gum :)
Charters are not very good because:
- although they are tied to the schedule, they can be rescheduled 1+ hours later/earlier
- dealt with at the speed of light (by package tourists), and the lifespan of an unredeemed charter ticket is a maximum of 7 days
- regular flights are allowed to take off
- There is no business class on charter planes
Popular myths about charter flights
Everyone who is going to fly charter for the first time loads themselves with the most unpleasant expectations: poor service, old planes, mandatory delays... But, nevertheless, we and many travelers choose such flights, which means they are worth it :)
Firstly, safety and the range of services offered are not reduced in any way in the case of a charter. The baggage transportation system is the same, food depends on the company and the duration of the flight (as on regular airlines), and the staff of the same level of professionalism is responsible for the lives of passengers. About old planes: yes, for the most part, they are “worn,” but this is not what determines the quality of the flight.
Secondly, do not confuse charters with low-cost airlines, whose prices are favorable by cutting services. Charters are wholesale purchases by a tour operator, which reduces the cost.
Thirdly, delays. They arise not because it is a charter, but due to reasons beyond our control: adjustments to the flight program by the tour operator, weather, late arrival of the ship, etc.
And by the way, the Montreal Convention obliges charter companies to provide the same compensation in case of long downtime as regular ones (food, drinks, hotel...)! And from 2018, airlines that delay 10% of flights in a month may not be allowed to fly the next month.
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