Private jet charter agreements, deposits and payments

Back-to-back means obligations flow: if the client cancels inside a penalty window, you must still cover the operator unless your client contract matches that penalty. If the operator can substitute aircraft, your client contract should describe the same standard and notice.

Acting as agent vs indirect air carrier changes wording and disclosures under Part 295. Pick a capacity and use consistent templates reviewed by counsel.

Never let the client sign your proposal without the operating carrier identity on US trips where Part 295.24 requires pre-contract disclosure.

The client-facing document is often shorter than the operator contract. That is fine if it does not contradict cancellation, payment, or performance terms. When your marketing PDF is silent on a topic, the operator’s fine print still binds you.

Sub-broker arrangements add a third relationship: your supplier broker, their operator, and your client. Disclose relationships on request and keep each contract tier visible internally.

• Cancellation tiers and who keeps the deposit at each timeframe.
• Delay, mechanical, and force majeure — who pays hotels, repositioning, or downgrades.
• Substitute aircraft — category vs specific tail, and vetting rights.
• Damage and cleaning — smoking, pets, and excessive mess charges.
• Governing law, venue, and service of notice.
• Payment currency and who bears FX movement on operator invoices in another currency.

Example — not legal advice: Operator contract charges 100% inside 72 hours. Client contract charges 50% inside 72 hours. The broker may owe the operator the other 50% from margin or reserves unless disclosed and priced.

Mechanical delays and crew duty limits interact with substitute aircraft clauses. If your client contract promises a same-category substitute within four hours but the operator contract allows twenty-four, you own the gap.

Force majeure language differs by template. Compare pandemic, weather, and airspace closure triggers on both sides before accepting a client’s corporate paper.

1. Confirm operator deposit amount and refundability before quoting client payment terms.
2. Collect client funds only into accounts you control with clear reconciliation to operator payables.
3. Pay the operator per their contract — often balance 24–72 hours before departure — without missing cutoffs.
4. Document who pays FET and segment taxes and when remittance is due.
5. For new clients, consider stronger prepayment or card hold until KYC comfort improves.

Link payment terms to your quote validity process in how to quote a private jet charter.

Some operators require non-refundable deposits to hold a tail over peak dates. If you mirror that with the client, say so in writing before they pay. If you absorb hold risk, price it into margin.

Multi-leg tours may use milestone billing. Align each milestone with operator triggers so you are not paying ahead of client receipts without a credit line.

• Send wire instructions once from a secure channel; tell clients you will never change details by email alone.
• Call a known operations number to verify any change — not a number in the email.
• Train staff on BEC patterns during peak booking seasons.
• Card payments: understand chargeback risk, merchant category limits, and pass-through fees in margin.
• Escrow or trust models vary by jurisdiction — use structures your counsel approves.

Publish a short client-facing wire guide on your website: how you confirm instructions, that you never rotate accounts by email, and a callback number that is not in the body of the invoice email.

For card payments, match merchant descriptor text to your legal name so cardholders recognise the charge. Surprise descriptors drive chargebacks on high-value trips.

Credit card payments follow credit-card rules and network chargeback processes rather than the 20-day cash/check window alone. Document the request date and what you still owe operators when allocating refunds.

Source: 14 CFR 295.26 on Cornell LII — confirm current text on eCFR before relying on it in client policies.

Your client contract should describe refund mechanics without contradicting Part 295 for covered trips.

• Signed client contract and operator contract (PDF).
• Disclosure emails or pages with carrier, capacity, insurance.
• Quotes, revisions, and validity timestamps.
• Wire confirmations and operator payment proofs.
• Passenger manifest, IDs checklist, and catering confirmations.
• Vetting files: certificate, insurance, audit notes.
• Cancellation and refund correspondence with dates.

Cloud backups with role-based access beat one laptop folder. Regulators and insurers ask for documents months after the flight when staff may have changed.

When the operator invoices in euros and the client pays in dollars, document the exchange rate source and date on the trip sheet. Reconcile bank fees separately from charter margin so unit economics stay readable.

VAT and FET lines may be payable to different entities. Splitting client receipts into tax buckets internally reduces year-end clean-up with accountants.

Agents often disclose total cost on request and pass through operator cancellation terms with a disclosed service fee. Indirect air carriers may control client pricing more directly but still must disclose the operating carrier before contract under Part 295.

Review templates with aviation counsel when you change capacity or enter a new region. Generic travel agency terms rarely mention substitute aircraft, FBO charges, or crew duty limits.

Give operations the operator 24-hour contact, FBO names, and any PPR or slot numbers already collected. Missing handoff is a common first-year failure even when contracts were perfect.

If payment is still outstanding against operator cutoff, escalate before you send catering. Do not assume a client wire sent the night before will land in time.

After the flight, close the file: confirm operator invoice matches contract, release remaining client funds if any, and archive refund or extra-charge emails.

Screen clients and payers against official OFAC lists (Sanctions List Search) and EU restrictive measures (EU Sanctions Map). Banks may also apply their own KYC rules that delay wires.

Refuse third-party payers you cannot identify. A different company wiring funds for a private individual is a common fraud and sanctions red flag.

Record the screening date with the trip documents. Repeat the check if a new payer appears after contract signature.

Counsel should confirm which lists apply to your company registration and the trip’s points of sale. This page does not replace that advice.

1. Cancellation windows and percentages match or the gap is priced and disclosed.
2. Substitute aircraft standard is the same on both sides.
3. Governing law conflict is accepted or negotiated.
4. Deposit amounts and due dates leave you solvent against operator cutoff.
5. Refund language for US trips does not promise slower than Part 295.26 for cash and check.
6. Fraud notice about bank-detail changes appears in client instructions.