Private Jet Quote Checklist: What to Check

A charter quote should show one all-in price and name six things behind it: the aircraft type, the operator holding the AOC, block times per leg, the positioning legs, every fee, and the taxes. Anything missing from the quote has a habit of appearing on the invoice instead.

The Mondial Jets team · Charter specialists

Published 23 September 2026 · Last reviewed 23 September 2026

Written and checked by the charter team at Mondial Jets, who quote and arrange these flights daily. Figures are taken from published aircraft specifications and market sources, each linked at the foot of the article.

A quote is a document, not a number

Most people compare charter quotes the way they compare hotel rooms: by the figure at the bottom. That works when the figures describe the same thing, and in charter they frequently do not. One quote includes positioning and landing fees; another shows an hourly rate with "fees at cost" beneath it. One names the aircraft; another names a category. Both end in a number, and the numbers are not comparable.

The checklist below is what we put on our own quotes and what you should expect from anyone else's. It is short enough to run through in two minutes.

The twelve items

What belongs on a private jet charter quote. Compiled from standard charter agreement practice; consulted 2026-09-23.
#	Item	Why it matters
1	Aircraft type, and ideally the registration	"Midsize jet" is a category spanning very different cabins. The registration ties the quote to a specific airframe
2	The operator, by name	The company holding the AOC and flying you. See broker or operator
3	Departure and arrival airports, by ICAO code	"London" is five airports; "Paris" is three. The code removes the ambiguity
4	Block times per leg	Door closed to door open — what is actually billed, and what tells you if a day return works
5	The positioning legs	Where the aircraft comes from and goes to. Often the largest single variable in the price
6	Passenger and luggage assumptions	A quote for eight with hand luggage is not a quote for eight with skis
7	Landing, handling and parking fees	Included or itemised — but present. These are not small at a major hub
8	Crew costs, including any overnight	An aircraft that waits usually means crew accommodation
9	Catering and ground transport	Either included, or priced, or explicitly excluded — not silent
10	De-icing, in winter	Charged at cost on the day; the quote should say so rather than surprise you
11	Taxes and the total	One figure you would actually pay, with VAT treatment stated
12	Validity, cancellation terms and the substitution clause	How long the price holds, and what happens if plans or aircraft change. See changing or cancelling

The four red flags

An hourly rate instead of a total. The rate is a component. Published European rates run from about €3,000 an hour for a light jet to €15,000 for a heavy jet, and trip costs add roughly 20–40% on top — so an hourly rate tells you very little about what you will pay. The cost guide breaks it down.
No operator named. Someone holds the AOC for your flight. If nobody will say who, stop there.
"Plus fees" without figures. Fees vary by airport and are knowable in advance. A quote that defers them is deferring the price.
Pressure to pay before the agreement. The contract comes first. A deposit against an unsigned agreement is a deposit against nothing.

How to compare two quotes properly

Put them side by side and normalise three things before looking at the totals.

Same aircraft class. A light jet quote and a midsize quote for the same route are answers to different questions. Our class comparison shows what each fits.
Same inclusions. Add the missing fees to the cheaper quote by hand. Frequently the gap closes entirely.
Same structure. Aircraft waiting versus flying home and returning are different products at different prices — the return-leg guide covers the crossover.

Only then compare. In our experience the quote that looked 20% cheaper is usually within a few per cent once normalised, and the remaining difference is positioning — which is information, not a discount.

What to ask if something is missing

Three questions cover most gaps, and a broker looking at a real aircraft answers each in a sentence: which operator is flying this, where is the aircraft positioning from, and what is not included in this figure? Vagueness on any of the three means the quote is a guess rather than an offer — the person quoting has not yet spoken to an operator.

None of this is about distrust. It is about making two pieces of paper comparable, which is the only way to know whether the cheaper one is actually cheaper. Ask us for one and run the list against it; if anything on it is missing, tell us and we will fix the quote rather than argue about it.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What should a private jet quote include?

One all-in price and, behind it, six named things: the aircraft type and ideally its registration, the operator holding the AOC, block times per leg, the positioning legs, every fee (landing, handling, parking, catering, de-icing) and the taxes. Anything absent from the quote tends to appear on the invoice.

Why do two quotes for the same trip differ so much?

Usually because of where the aircraft is coming from, which is the positioning cost, and occasionally because one quote excludes fees the other includes. Compare all-in totals, never hourly rates — an hourly rate is a component, not a price. Our positioning guide explains the largest variable.

Is a quote binding?

No. A quote is an offer; the charter agreement is the contract. Until you sign and pay, nothing is committed on either side, and the aircraft can be sold to someone else. That is why a quote for a busy date carries a validity period, sometimes only hours.

What are the red flags?

An hourly rate instead of a total; no operator named; "plus fees" or "excluding taxes" without figures; no block times; a refusal to say where the aircraft is positioning from; and pressure to pay before the agreement is issued. Each is answerable in one sentence by a broker who is looking at a real aircraft.

More on this subject

What a private jet charter actually costs

Published 2026 European rates per class, and every cost that sits on top of the hourly rate.

Read this guide

Broker or operator: who are you buying from?

The difference, why it decides who is responsible, and how to check an operator.