How we organise charters for the entertainment industry

What happens when we receive a charter request?

One of our team’s most important goals is ensuring each client receives a VIP service that meets all their requirements. This personalised service begins as soon as we receive a brief, says our Business Development Director for Film, TV & Entertainment, Mario Nicholas. “Each request from an entertainment client is immediately handed over to one of our dedicated SMEs, who are vastly experienced dealing with this type of charter.

“We then quickly clarify exactly what the client desires, including the number of passengers, the amount of gear and where they wish to fly from and to. From there, our team handles the rest, making use of our organisation’s specialist teams to provide our clients with the best possible solution for their unique requirements.”

Three departments offering specialist experience

Our three charter divisions – private jet, group (commercial aircraft) and cargo – offer entertainment clients a range of specialist solutions. Each department is made up of charter experts with the contacts and experience to fulfil even the most challenging of requests.

Our three divisions - and the industry experts within them - means can source private jets for talent and entourages with complex rider facilities like gourmet catering and bespoke onboard entertainment; quickly move props, lighting rigs, sound systems and heavy instruments to far-flung destinations; and coordinate multi-stop music tours flying headline acts, bands, orchestras and stage equipment around the world. 

“When chartering for under 19 passengers, we typically ask our private jet experts to find a solution, whereas our commercial jet team handles larger groups”, adds Mario. “But there are exceptions to this rule, such as when the cargo exceeds what a private jet can handle. In that case, our commercial jet specialists take care of the logistics.

“Being able to call on the experience of multiple divisions helps us achieve the best solution for every entertainment client. For example, a commercial jet consultant knows whether a narrow-body or wide-body aircraft is needed – a vital consideration, as a cargo handler needs to be involved in chartering a wide-body aircraft. And if a client needs to move a lot of heavy or bulky equipment, our cargo division can source the ideal aircraft for the job.”

Worldwide access, local knowledge

Air Charter Service’s global reputation and buying power have grown over the decades and we now have offices in six continents. Our regional teams’ knowledge of their local markets enables us to secure the best charter prices and deliver the most cost-effective solutions.

“Having offices around the world certainly makes the chartering process easier,” says Mario. “For example, if we get a request for a charter that begins and ends in New York via a major city in Brazil, our New York team can source the appropriate aircraft in the US, while we can also make use of our Sao Paulo office’s local knowledge to explore whether there’s a more cost-effective solution for the return journey. Our clients like knowing there’s always a regional charter expert they can contact 24/7 if any plans change.”

What we’ve achieved for our clients

Privacy is paramount and we organise hundreds of anonymous charters every year, but sometimes we have permission to document aspects of a charter to demonstrate what we can achieve for our clients.

On tour with Iron Maiden

We’re known for coordinating multi-stop itineraries, so we jumped at the chance when legendary rockers Iron Maiden called on our expertise for their Book of Souls world tour. Our team chartered a customised B747-400 dubbed ‘Ed Force One’ for four months to fly the band on 48 sectors, covering six continents and carrying 22 tonnes of cargo on each leg. There were numerous logistics to organise throughout the tour as well as livery, flight permissions, fuel and handling agents.

Flying an orchestra at short notice

Moving an entire orchestra requires an aircraft large enough for the musicians and their instruments. When a European tour manager needed our help with flying a 60-person orchestra and several heavy instruments from France to a performance in Switzerland at short notice, we sprung into action and quickly sourced a Fokker 100 within budget – despite the request coming in less than two days before the group were due to perform.

A flexible solution for a film crew

A production travel manager asked us to help fly an Australian film crew from the Gold Coast to Cairns for a site visit, as there were no suitable scheduled services for the group of 50 and a private jet charter could complete the round-trip in one day. We overcame aircraft shortages to source an Embraer ERJ-145 at a competitive price, utilising our relationship with the operator to reschedule the flight when some of the film crew contracted Covid-19.

Last-minute charters for famous singers

With hundreds of contacts all over the world, we’re well-equipped to deal with last-minute requests. One such example is when we sourced a Falcon 2000 to fly a high-profile artist back to Las Vegas from the Grammys in Los Angeles a week before the event took place. On another occasion, a tour manager gave us just 48 hours’ notice to fly a musician from Los Angeles to Coachella Music Festival. There were very few private jets available and most operators were reluctant to quote for such a short routing, but we leveraged our industry relationships to find two viable solutions within hours of receiving the request.

Arranging a band’s multi-stop charter

It took us just two hours to source an eight-seat Learjet 45 that was perfect for an English heavy metal band’s tour of Canada. With the band’s busy schedule often involving several stops a day, a series charter by private jet ensured they reached each location quickly and conveniently with minimal time spent at airports.

Whether you’re planning a multi-stop tour or a one-off charter, contact our team today to learn more about how we can help.

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