UK Private Jet Charter

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Private Jet Charter Glossary
A to H

Airshow to Heavy Crew

Airshow:A cabin information system that displays the aircraft's position on a moving map, with altitude, time to destination, outside temperature and other flight data.
AOC:Air Operator's Certificate. It specifies the type of operation that the operator is licensed to perform and sets out the conditions under which those authorised operations will be performed. Issued in the UK by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
APU:Auxiliary Power Unit. An onboard source of power that enables air conditioning, heating, galley facilities and cabin lighting to be used on the ground when the main engines are not operating. The APU is actually a small additional jet engine that doesn't provide any forward thrust and acts solely as a generator of electricity.
Augmented crew:See Heavy Crew
Block hours:The advance purchase of a specific number of hours of flying time, to be flown as and when required.
Charter Broker:An individual or company that acts as a middle man between the charter operators and the charter passengers. A good broker will be able to find the best deal for his customer's needs.
Club seating:A seating layout where pairs of seats face each other, as in a railway carriage compartment, rather than all face the same way, as on a bus. The club configuration is more sociable and enables easy conversation between occupants.
Dead leg:See empty leg.
Duty Time:The elapsed time from when a crew start their working day to when they finish, not just the time spent in the air. Limited by the CAA for the safety of the crew's passengers.
Empty leg:Informal term for a flight without passengers or cargo. See also positioning flight
FBO:Abbreviation for Fixed Base Operator. Not as in charter operator, but an American synonym for Handling Agent sometimes used in the UK by aircrew.
Ferry:See empty leg.
Flight Attendant:A member of the crew dedicated to attending to the passengers during the flight. Often able to meet advance requests for specific catering, drinks, magazines, flowers or other requirements.
Flight time:The time between take-off and landing. Excludes any time spent taxiing to and from the stand.
GAT:Abbreviation for General Aviation Terminal. The Handling Agents will often be located here as GA terminals are much quieter than scheduled terminals.
General Aviation:The aviation industry categorises flights as either Scheduled, Cargo, Military or General. Non-airline passenger flights fall in the broad General Aviation category, however the terms Business Aviation or Executive Aviation are frequently used to differentiate private jet charter flights from light aircraft enthusiast flights.
Handling agent:A company appointed by the operator to greet and ease their passengers' passage through an airport. Will typically feature a dedicated car park, VIP lounge, security and immigration liaison and baggage porterage.
Heavy crew:Flying with one or more additional flight crew members. On occasion an ultra-long range aircraft might carry additional pilots to allow each to rest in rotation and counter the onset of fatigue.

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