The airline industry is highly regulated to ensure travelers’ safety and peace of mind. Thousands of passengers use private jet services each year, assuming their broker is government-certified. But surprisingly, it was not until February 2019 that jet charter brokers were fully regulated by the federal government.

Stratos Jet Charters welcomes the new regulations, called Part 295 by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Transportation (DOT). The regulations level the competitive playing field while adding safety rules for jet charter brokers. Here is a quick overview of how Part 295 will improve your air travel experience.

Ethics & Transparency

The main focus of the regulation is to ensure ethical and transparent business practices among air charter brokers. Here are some of the ways Part 295 Regulations aim to improve private jet services:

  • Stopping deceptive and unfair methods of competition. On promotional materials and websites, brokers must state that they are an indirect air carrier, and do not actually own or operate the aircraft.
  • Private jet services brokers must now disclose:
    – The corporate name and any DBA’s (“doing business as”) of the air carrier.
    – The capacity in which the broker operating. Is the broker working as an agent for you, or as an agent for the air carrier?
    – The total cost of the flight, including any fees paid to a third party.
    – Whether the broker has liability insurance and the monetary limits of the insurance policy.
    – If a refund is due, the refund must be made to the customer promptly.

Safety

Though Part 295 is intended to protect consumers from questionable business practices, there is a safety component for passengers as well. Under Part 295, private jet services brokers are not permitted to misrepresent the quality or type of aircraft. Nor can they misrepresent qualifications of the pilot, or the safety record of the pilots, aircraft or air carriers. Finally, brokers cannot misrepresent membership with any third-party organization such as ARGUS or Wyvern, which audit air charter brokers.

It is your right as a consumer to know that your air charter broker and the air carrier are following the safety regulations. If you are interested in the other safety initiatives at Stratos Jet Charters, we recommend looking at our Air Charter Safety page. We have set a high safety standard for our clients to fly in confidence.

Conclusion

What the new Part 295 Regulations mean is that all air charter brokers, including Stratos Jet Charters, are being held to a higher standard. If effectively enforced, the new regulations will weed out the less reputable and outright dangerous air charter brokers. At Stratos, we have staked our reputation on transparency, safety, and professionalism. Our customers deserve the best.

Whether you are flying to a neighboring state or flying internationally, we pride ourselves on providing stress-free travel for all our clients. When you need a private jet rental company that can arrange luxury charter flights anywhere in the world, call Stratos Jets—888-593-9066.