Charter flights and flights: myths and truth. Where can I buy?

For beginner and elementary travelers, this is perhaps the most striking example, when you seem to understand what it is about, but you cannot give an exact definition (in fact, you don’t know it) - this is the concept of a “charter flight”.

From all the variety of associations, only “cheap” - which is justified - and “flight delay / cancellation” - but this smacks of prejudice. Be that as it may, this is a good way to save money, so we figure out: where, when and why do we get cheap charter flights and can we rely on them?

What is a charter flight?

Initially, a charter flight was something of a private booking based on the requirements of the client, not the airline. Now charter flights are correlated with tour operators or organized large groups, which, on the basis of an agreement, buy from the airline and use its services for a certain period (for example, during the tourist season).

It's almost like a taxi: a route is chosen in advance and it is assumed how many people will go, then seats are reserved. The task of the "taxi driver" is to perform only the technical part - transportation (ie flight). After the clients (that is, tourists) are delivered, the "taxi driver" picks up other people nearby (loads the already rested ones) and takes them back.

A similar flight, by the way, is called a "shuttle charter", but there are also "split charter": part of the journey takes place on a regular (regular) liner, then a transfer, and the charter is already flying. This happens with small cities, from where it is impossible to go directly to the other end of the world; for this, a large interchange hub is needed.

Charters "specialize" in mass and seasonal resorts / departures. For example, there is no direct flight to Rhodes from Kazan. But there is a summer charter tied to tour operators, which twice a week ferries tourists to the island directly 🙂 If you are lucky, you can only catch a flight.

The prices for charter flights depend on the occupancy of the aircraft: the more free seats there are, the cheaper the ticket. For example, you can fly from Moscow to Barcelona for 6,700 rubles (departure is expected in 2 days). Kazan-Rhodes-Kazan - 10 200 rubles!

Where do we look for cheap tours and flights?

It's no secret how to buy a plane ticket. Aggregators, of course, such as Skyscanner and Aviasales. However, the indications “charter flight” cannot be found there, alas, they are tailored for traditional flights.

Since charters are bought by tour operators, it makes sense to look for tours as well. It happens that they come out cheaper than the prices for air tickets (regular). Moreover, individual tickets without a voucher appear just a few days before departure and are immediately sorted out by the "hunters", who do not forget to watch the day and night 🙂

We book tours on 3 well-known online search engines (compare where it is more profitable):

• Travelata
• Level.Travel
• Onlinetours

They monitor offers from 120+ tour operators and are able to detect promotional and last-minute deals or suggest when to fly cheaper. We also have a separate article with a rating of tour operators.

It's one thing to snatch charter tickets, and quite another to find inexpensive accommodation for these dates. Therefore, it is often easier and more budgetary to travel on a tour (especially for popular "package" destinations - Turkey, Greece, Spain, etc.).

How to buy a ticket for a charter flight without a ticket? Instructions

Still, how to buy a charter ticket without a tour?

Six months ago, we would have had to send you to sophisticated and understandable exclusively for travel agents (and are they reliable?) Sites like "chartergou.ru". Today, the Aviasales service has overtaken the aforementioned aggregators in terms of functionality and now catches not only the regular season, but also charters!

Before you go in search, please note that tickets appear no earlier than a week before departure. This is because the tour operator sells them in case of need to fill places.

• Visit Aviasales
• Type in the desired city (or, to be sure, Moscow), direction, dates and press “find tickets”
• Trust in fortune ...
• Charter flights, if available, are shown as cheapest and marked

✓ Tours are usually 7, 10 and 14 days in length and charter tickets will follow this timetable
✓ A ribbon with dates and prices along the top edge helps you navigate low-cost departures
✓ For rechecking, you can put a filter on Aviasales in the "AGENCIES" tab on Clickavia, ChaBuka and Sindbad (they work with charters)

Charter airlines flying from Russia

Azur Air charter flight (our tour to Dubai)

Not all airlines welcome the charter system. But those who are “in business” deliver travelers to places where regular flights are not announced 🙂 These can be hard-to-reach or too exotic places, where there are few people who want to fly, but the occupancy of the cabin should be maximized. And only charters are capable of this.

Companies flying from Russia (from Moscow and the regions) for 2021:

Which countries do charter flights fly to?

If you see charter flights to Turkey (one of the above carriers is flying), immediately look at the tours for these numbers (on Level.Travel, for example). 99% that the voucher will be more profitable than booking tickets and hotels on your own.

These are the buses from TezTour that carry tourists in Rhodes

Differences between charters and regular flights

1) Important: be prepared that the charter is "twisted as they want"! The airport of departure (it was Domodedovo, it became Vnukovo) and the airport of arrival (it was Phuket, became Krabi) can be changed - which, however, happens much less often than a flight is postponed in time. For half an hour or a day ahead or back ... This, of course, insidiously eats up or generously adds days of rest.

It should be noted that our relationship with charters has not yet been spoiled by long delays, much more often we “got it” with regular flights.

2) You can buy tickets for charters no earlier than a week in advance. If it is cheaper to take a ticket for a regular flight several months in advance, then the charter ticket will drop to a minimum closer to departure (if the seats are “lit”).

3) The ticket itself arrives at the post office on the eve of departure, but no later than a day. Yes, it's strange, paid and wait 5 days, but these are the rules.

4) Charter tickets cannot be returned or exchanged. And online booking (that is, asking to "hold on" and redeem in a couple of days) does not work here.

5) Advantages in the airspace - for regular aircraft: in case of delays on the runway, they are released first.

Pros and cons of charters

Charters are good because:

• lack of transplants
• flight from hard-to-reach regions to destinations where regular ones do not fly (no connections)
• low cost
• no grading by class in the cabin ... equality-friendship-chewing gum 🙂
• guaranteed 20 kg baggage 🙂

Charters are not good because:

• although tied to the schedule, but can be rescheduled 1+ hour later / earlier
• dealt with at the speed of light (package tourists), and the life of an unredeemed charter ticket is a maximum of 7 days
• allow regular flights to take off
• there is no business class on charter aircraft

Popular myths about charter flights

Everyone who is going to fly a charter for the first time loads himself with the most unpleasant expectations: poor service, old planes, a mandatory delay ... But, nevertheless, we and many travelers choose such flights, which means they are worth it 🙂

Firstly, the safety and the range of services offered are not compromised in any way in the case of a charter. The baggage system is the same, they are fed depending on the company and the duration of the flight (as on regular flights), and the staff of the same level of professionalism is responsible for the lives of passengers.About old planes: yes, for the most part, they are "well-worn", but this does not determine the quality of the flight.

Secondly, do not confuse charters with low-cost airlines, for which the price is favorable due to cutbacks in services. Charters are bulk purchases of a tour operator, due to which the cost is lost.

Third, delays. They arise not because this is a charter, but because of reasons beyond our control: adjusting the flight program by the tour operator, weather, late arrival of the ship, etc.

And by the way, the Montreal Convention obliges charter companies to provide the same compensation in case of prolonged downtime as regular ones (food, drinks, hotel ...)! And since 2018, airlines that delayed 10% of flights per month may not be allowed to fly next.