Part 135 vs Part 91, in plain English
Part 91 is private flying: an owner flying their own aircraft, or a company flying its own people. Part 135 is commercial: carrying paying passengers for hire. A Part 135 operator is certificated and inspected by the FAA, its pilots meet higher training and duty-time rules, and its maintenance programme is approved. Selling seats or whole flights to the public under Part 91 is illegal charter.
Why it matters to you
Illegal charter means no commercial insurance in force, no FAA oversight of the crew's training and rest, and an owner who may be improvising maintenance. The price looks great until something goes wrong.
Red flags to watch for
A price far below every other quote. No operator name or certificate number on the quote. Payment to an individual rather than a company. Being asked to sign a lease or to join a club at the last minute. Vague answers about who the operator is.
How to check an operator
Ask for the Part 135 certificate number and the operator's legal name, and confirm them against the FAA's public operator listings. Ask whether the specific aircraft is on the operator's operations specifications. A legitimate operator or broker answers in minutes.
What a charter broker must tell you
Under 14 CFR Part 295 an air charter broker must disclose that it is acting as a broker, name the direct air carrier operating the flight and the aircraft type, and must not hold itself out as the operator. We put this in writing on every quote.
