Fractional Jet Ownership vs. Charter: Cost Comparison Statistics

Fractional jet ownership and chartering are two of the most popular options for private travelers who don’t want the cost or logistical overhead of full plane ownership. Each has real advantages, but they produce very different financial and experiential outcomes depending on how often you fly.

In total, fractional ownership can exceed $1,000,000 including the initial deposit, with annual operating costs running approximately 10% of the plane’s total value. Charter arrangements are more variable, ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars per flight. Understanding exactly where each model makes sense is the key to making the right decision.

Fractional Jet Ownership: General Overview

Fractional ownership shares start in 1/16th increments and can scale up to 50% ownership of the total aircraft. A 1/16th share traditionally purchases 50 occupied hours per year. Contracts generally start in 5-year increments and can be renewed from there.

Although you buy into a specific vehicle, most fractional services send different planes each time. The Flexjet Red Label program is a notable exception, one of the few programs that guarantees the same aircraft repeatedly.

Fractional Jet Ownership Stats by Provider

NetJets

NetJets owns more than 781 aircraft and serves over 12,500 customers globally, the largest fractional fleet in existence. A 1/16th share starts at $500,000 and can reach $850,000 depending on cabin class. Monthly management fees range from $12,000 to $50,000, and occupied hourly rates run between $5,000 and $20,000 per hour.

Fractional Jet Ownership Stats

NetJets

CRAFT

Flexjet

Flexjet is the second largest fractional jet ownership company globally, with 2,000 customers. A 1/16th share of a light jet starts at $500,000 to $600,000. Flexjet reserves certain aircraft, including the Gulfstream G650, exclusively for fractional owners.

PlaneSense

Founded in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1995, PlaneSense is one of the fastest-growing fractional operators, having increased hours flown by 7% since 2023. They operate the largest civilian fleet of Pilatus PC-12 turboprops and PC-24 jets.

Airshare

Airshare has been in business for 25 years, is based out of Lenexa, Kansas, and acquired the aircraft management business from Wheels Up in 2023. Their model bills ownership in days rather than hours, a 1/16th share provides 20 days of unlimited flying per year, roughly equivalent to 100 hours.

Day-based billing benefits executives who visit multiple cities in one day, no per-hour clock running during the trip.

Charter Cost Breakdown

Chartering generally costs more per hour than fractional ownership, but saves travelers who don’t fly frequently enough to justify the fixed costs of a fractional share. No deposits, no monthly fees, no depreciation exposure.

What charter-style hourly pricing looks like today, from the rates jet card companies publish for each size (the middle half of the range):

The middle half of the hourly rates jet card companies publish for each size, checked October 2, 2026, with the 7.5% federal excise tax added where a company says it is extra and an estimated fuel surcharge where one applies. Charter quotes add repositioning, fees and minimums. Cost by flight time.

Light jets suit short regional hops, midsize jets cross-country trips, super-midsize jets coast to coast, and large and ultra-long-range jets bigger groups and intercontinental legs. What a 1, 2, 3 or 5-hour flight comes to is on private jet cost by the hour, and every route from your city is on its city page.

Seasonal Pricing Variations

Charter rates fluctuate based on demand and fuel prices. While rates typically increase 2–3% annually, 2025 saw a slight 0.1% decrease, the first drop in private travel prices since 2019.

+50% Peak periods

Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Super Bowl, Coachella, Kentucky Derby

+20% Summer weekends

The second most expensive period, prices run ~20% above standard rates

+2–3% Annual baseline

Typical year-over-year increase, 2025 was the exception at −0.1%

Empty Leg Flight Savings

Empty leg flights are offered by jet services to monetize repositioning flights. These legs can be offered at up to 70% off the typical charter rate, but you have little say in timing, and availability typically opens only 2 to 3 days before departure.

Additional Costs Common to Both Models

Break-Even Analysis

The actual break-even point depends on your usage and provider, but the general framework holds across the industry.

Under 25 hrs

Charter is most cost-effective. No upfront investment, no maintenance, no depreciation.

25–50 hrs

Jet cards are often the right fit. Pre-negotiated rates without depreciation exposure.

50–200 hrs

Fractional ownership hits break-even at 50 hours. The more you fly in this range, the stronger the case, especially with Craft, where your capital doesn’t simply depreciate.

200+ hrs

Full aircraft ownership may become the most financially viable option at this volume.

Where CRAFT Fits

CRAFT is the Part 135 operator of five Challenger 300 and 350 jets. You can charter one trip at a time, or buy hours on the Fleet Jet Card at published hourly rates, fuel and FET included, without buying a share of an aircraft. What a trip costs is on private jet cost by the hour and the city pages, and how card programs compare, route by route, on the jet card providers page.

Sources

1. Private Jet Card Comparisons. “How much does NetJets cost in 2026.” privatejetcardcomparisons.com
2. Private Jet Card Comparisons. “How much does Flexjet cost in 2026.” privatejetcardcomparisons.com
3. Aviate Alabama. “Flexjet Fractional Ownership: Costs and Benefits Explained.” July 2025. aviatealabama.com
4. Industry standard pricing data compiled from fractional ownership operator websites and aviation industry reports, 2024–2025.
5. Industry standard data from Airshare corporate information and private aviation market analysis, 2023–2025.
6. Private aviation charter pricing data compiled from industry sources, 2024–2025.
7. Private aviation market pricing trends and seasonal variation data, 2024–2025.
8. Empty leg flight data compiled from charter operator practices, 2024–2025.
9. U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Federal Excise Tax Rates, 2025.
10. Private aviation operating cost data compiled from industry standards, 2024–2025.
11. Private aviation break-even analysis data, industry financial analysis reports, 2024–2025.
12. Private aviation break-even analysis data, industry financial analysis reports, 2024–2025.