Business air travel broadly refers to charter airlines that operate aircraft on a charter basis. Business air travel is not a part of commercial air travel and is treated as a separate entity by the FRA, which even has a separate part to handle Chartered flights. In essence, chartered flights are outside normal schedules, by a hiring arrangement with a particular customer. Most scheduled airline companies also operate charter flights but are not considered or classified as charter airlines.
In context of Business air travel, charter flights have acquired a more specific role with the sole function being to transport executives, sports teams, and anyone whose schedule does not coincide with the schedule in which commercial aircrafts operate.
Air charter travel started becoming popular in the late 1990s, when chartered aircrafts moved into mainstream corporate aviation for a number of factors:
The popularity of very light jets and executive jets popularized the concept of business air travel. These small jets operate with lower inventory and downtime, which add up to bring down the cost of flight substantially. Cessna, Eclipse, Adam Aircraft, and Embraer are the forerunners in executive jet manufacturing. These jets are small, and are retrofitted to operate like an office.
Communication: The 9/11 incident has forced the FAA to impose a number of restrictions on commercial airline travel. For example, use of laptop computers and telephones are completely banned on commercial aircrafts. However, charter flights are regulated by a different part of the FRA, where rules are not so stringent. This flexibility is an added bonus to the corporate world, who now have got the liberty to stay in constant contact even when on the air.
Flexibility: Most commercial airlines operate of preset routes and revenue earning destinations. Hence anyone who has to reach a destination that is not revenue earning would have a tough time arranging for breaks journey. Air charter aircrafts has solved these problems.
Business air travel is expected to increase ten fold over the next two decades and private charter companies are preparing well for the bang. As more and more companies are entering this arena, rates are becoming more competitive and affordable.