From Minsk and nearby capitals. Thoughtful readers immediately asked why there were no charter flights on the list. Therefore, in this issue of the column we are happy to explain in which case it is better to fly to the sea on a charter and where to buy tickets for such planes.

What is a charter flight?

Imagine that a travel agency needs to quickly deliver a crowd of its clients to some paradise by the sea. Then they rent a plane from the airline, which can operate a regular flight schedule or fly to places where direct flights are not provided. Usually tickets are sold out as part of package tours, but often there are extra tickets left - this is where you can join the game and fly to the seas by affordable price(-20-30%). Especially if you have planned a trip during the holiday season or for the New Year.

What you need to know about charter flights?

The price for a charter is usually significantly lower than the cost of a regular flight - especially flights from Minsk. True, it affects the price huge amount factors: season, time between departure and arrival dates, price wars between regular flights and charters. But the fact is that getting to many places by charter is cheaper than creating a complex route with a bunch of transfers - usually this is seaside resorts Turkey, Greece, Montenegro, Bulgaria.

Charters are for spontaneous travelers or guys with strong nerves, because you can usually buy a ticket for them only 2 weeks or even 10 days before departure. Okay, tickets for dates that are unpopular with travel agencies are sold well in advance, but you need to check on a case-by-case basis. It may also turn out that there are no tickets for the date you need at all - travel agencies have done everything for their clients. It also happens that a ticket appears literally a day or two before departure if someone has refused - so buying charter tickets is practically a sport. The easiest option here is to decide on a city, call the consolidator and find out what options are available.

How to buy a charter ticket?

There are two options for the development of events. Firstly, you can monitor the websites of the largest tourism operators or contact them directly and find out if there is free seats on charter flights for specific dates and directions. But this option is only suitable for people with a lot of free time.

It is much easier to look for tickets from consolidators who specialize in charters. You can check the information on the following sites.

With flights from Minsk:

With flights from Moscow:

With flights from Kyiv:

. flyuia.com - UIA charter flights

Cons of charters

Departure time for charters is a relative concept. Being an hour or two late is quite common. The fact is that departures of charter flights are “inserted” into the intervals between departures of regular flights, and therefore if regular flights experience any delays, charter departures are also postponed. If the airport is busy, they are more likely to put a charter plane in the queue than a plane operating regular flight.

The quality of service is inferior to regular flights. Forget about bonuses, loyalty systems, student discounts and other goodies. Get ready to shake like in a minibus, in an old plane, and don’t really count on a magazine, a movie, or even a Vzletnaya candy. However, if you are flying from Minsk, consider yourself lucky: the flights are operated by the same Belavia.

The ticket cannot be returned. After Ryanair, you are certainly not used to this. But keep in mind: if you refuse tickets, the money will not be returned. The good news is that the receipt can be reissued to another person - although you will have to look for it yourself.

Return dates are often tied to tours. If you managed to “snatch” a ticket there, then count on good price the return will only be on the date “tied” to the package tour: in a week, 10 days or two weeks. This scenario applies to destinations where flights are carried out infrequently. On popular destinations you have more freedom to choose dates.

Have a basic question about travel, flights, luggage, booking and finding seats? Feel free to ask it in the comments or send it by email [email protected], and you see, we’ll write an article in response to you.

Every traveler who prefers any type of transport to air will sooner or later come across the concept of a charter flight. What does this mean, how does it differ from the usual one and in what cases is it convenient - it’s better to sort out all the questions in advance.

A charter flight is a non-scheduled flight ordered by a consolidator. It could be a travel agency, an intermediary company or the airline itself. The consolidator charters the plane and sends it in the desired direction.

In simple terms, the differences can be explained as follows: if a regular flight can be compared to a bus running on a schedule, then a charter flight is a taxi that is ordered and paid for for a one-time trip.

What is the difference between a charter flight and a regular flight?

There are several fundamental differences between charter and regular flights:

• a ticket for a charter flight can be obtained the day before departure or already at the airport, while for a regular flight a travel document is issued at the time of purchase;
• the tour operator will cancel the return ticket if the passenger fails to catch the charter flight. If a tourist plans to get to the resort in some other way and return by charter, it is necessary to notify the travel agency selling the tours in advance;
• The charter flight may be moved to another airport or the aircraft may be replaced. This is not possible with regular flights;
• It is not possible to book a ticket for charter flights. Occasionally, consolidators open reservations, but not for more than one day.

The main difference is that a passenger planning a trip on a charter flight does not organize the flight, but only provides his data to the travel agency. Upon arrival at the airport, he picks up his boarding pass and checks in with it.

Types of charter flights

When purchasing charter plane tickets, you need to clarify what features you may encounter during the flight. So, they can offer you:

1. split - a flight in which part of the journey is covered using a regular flight;
2. shuttle - the aircraft immediately after delivering one group of passengers picks up the next;
3. poly - a charter flight with one or more transfers;
4. a layover charter will bring tourists to their destination, and will take them back after waiting;
5. corporate charters are ordered by large organizations to transport scientists, businessmen or other significant persons to conferences, councils, or even corporate vacations.

The most expensive type of air transportation is VIP charter, when the customer chooses the time and terms of use of the aircraft.

Advantages of charters

The best thing about charter flights is the price. This in particular explains the popularity of holidays in Turkey, Antalya, Egypt - charter flights make these tourist destinations accessible to all groups of tourists. On short routes the price can be half the cost of a regular flight. The cost of tickets does not change, but a few days before departure they usually decrease. Other benefits will be appreciated by passengers planning flights to rare destinations:

• purchasing a ticket for a charter flight is a rare and usually the only chance to fly to a place where regular flights do not fly. The absence of transfers will allow you to save additional money;
• a ticket for a non-scheduled flight can be easily reissued to another person if the passenger’s plans have changed;
• Charter flights are completely non-stop. For this reason, they do not have departure priority over regular flights, since the air corridor for regular flights is strictly planned.

Low ticket costs, the opportunity to get to an unvisited place and the absence of tedious transfers are the secret to the popularity of charter flights.

Disadvantages of Charters

The advantages of irregular routes also entail their disadvantages, which air carriers compensate for with low prices:

• Charter flights are more often postponed or delayed, because they are not a priority for airlines. If malfunctions occur, passengers will have to wait until the plane is repaired;
• If a ticket is purchased without the help of a travel agency, you need to be prepared for the fact that the flight may be canceled if few tickets are sold. This could become big problem, because charter tickets are sold in just a few days;
• When buying a trip with charter delivery, you need to keep in mind that it is impossible to change the duration of your stay at the resort, they strictly depend on the flight schedule;
• unlike regular flights, bonus miles are not awarded for charter flights;
• If reissuing a ticket is not a problem, then you won’t be able to get your money back in case of refusal.

Affordable prices also explain the impossibility of changing flight class. On charter flights all seats are economy class. This way, more seats can be accommodated, which means more profit for the travel agency.

What documents are required for a charter flight?

To purchase a ticket for such a flight, you only need a foreign passport for traveling to another country or a regular one for traveling around Russia. To reserve a seat, the passenger will need to indicate the series and number of the document, full name, date of birth and citizenship. You will be able to receive your boarding pass one day before departure, subject to full payment. To get on board the plane without any problems, you need to remember:

• the travel document must be filled out completely and without errors - both passenger and flight coupons;
• the passenger must familiarize himself with the rights and obligations indicated on the ticket;
• any damage or correction to the document will invalidate it;
• the passenger must be ready to present the ticket to the air carrier representative at any time.

If these conditions are met, the journey will be smooth and without surprises.

How to buy a ticket for a charter flight without a voucher

Finding a ticket for a charter plane on your own is not easy, as they go on sale several days before departure. Search engine sites will help you navigate. Several online resources specialize specifically in selecting charter tickets, but large online search engines can also offer them.

The search procedure is simple:

• you need to register on the search engine website;
• on home page select the “Charters” section;
• fill in all the necessary fields - place of departure and arrival, dates, number of passengers and click on the “Find” button - the search results will appear in front of you;
• in confirmation, applications with completed personal data have priority, so all of them must be accurately transferred from the international passport;
• After filling out all the fields, including contact information, click on the “Book” button.

After some time, the operator will contact you and clarify further actions. One day is given to pay for the ticket, otherwise the reservation is cancelled. You can pay for your purchase by bank card on the website or in cash. This service is provided by Svyaznoy salons.

An electronic ticket is usually ready several days before departure, but personal account it appears no later than 24 hours before departure. If the airline provides an online check-in service, the passenger will be able to check in in advance, select a seat and print a boarding pass.

It should be noted that online check-in for a charter flight is possible in extremely rare cases. This opportunity is not offered by every airline. For example, Aeroflot and S7 do not provide it at all, and Ural Airlines allows it only for some charters.

Another option to purchase a ticket for a charter flight would be to contact travel agencies that regularly sell last-minute, that is, unclaimed tickets.

Which airlines operate charter flights?

This service is provided by almost all airlines - Aeroflot, S7, NordStar Airlines, Yakutia, Utair, Rusline, Ural Airlines and others. The following airlines also operate charter flights in Russia:

• I FLY - enters into contracts with TEZ TOUR and flies from Vnukovo to Spain, Egypt, Turkey, Italy and Thailand;
• Pegas Fly - organizes irregular flights to airports in Europe, Asia and Africa;
• Red Wings Airlines - sends planes from Domodedovo to the most popular tourist destinations: Spain, Greece, Egypt and other countries;
• Azur Air - works together with Anex Tour;
• Royal flight - cooperates with Coral Travel and operates flights on mass tourist routes: Goa, Barcelona, ​​Sharm el-Sheikh, Kemer, Antalya, popular resorts Southeast Asia;
• Nordwind - provides charter flights to Europe, the UAE, and other popular holiday destinations.

Charter flights are no longer a new phenomenon for our country. Many tourists have flown charters and have a good idea of ​​what it is like. However, others doubt whether such flights should be trusted and do not know what the difference is between charter and regular flights.

We often hear the phrases: “Yes, I was on a charter flight”, “I flew on a charter, so I was late“, “Save a lot on a charter” and so on. So what is a charter flight, is it really much cheaper than regular flights and who operates charter flights. Let's figure it out now.

What is a charter

A charter is an analogue of a charter agreement; it is widespread in air travel and merchant shipping. The essence of a charter is that the charterer - the owner of the aircraft - for a certain amount makes it at the disposal of the charterer (or lessee) so that he can transport passengers or cargo.

As a rule, tour operators rent aircraft. And this is understandable - after all, in tourism business There is such a thing as seasonality. The main flow of tourists flies to Turkey in the summer, and to Goa in the winter. For a certain season, a tour operator rents planes and sends its clients to various exotic and not so exotic places.

Often charter flights are organized not by one tour operator, but by several. Here, too, everything is clear - chartering a plane is an expensive business, it’s much easier to chip in.

Therefore, clients of Pegasus, TezTour and some other operator often fly to the same resort on the same plane.

Whoever managed or wanted to pay for services has so many blocks of seats on a charter flight. Tour operators complete their tour packages with these places, and travel agencies in turn, they sell tour packages to tourists.

Why is charter cheaper?

In principle, from the above it is already clear why a charter flight is cheaper than a regular one. A regular flight flies on schedule, regardless of how many people are in the cabin - 500 or 50. In order not to incur losses, airlines include various risks in advance in a regular air ticket.

A charter flight is almost always guaranteed to be fully loaded. And if the charter does not have enough passengers, it can easily be rescheduled or cancelled.

Is it dangerous to fly charters?

There is a widespread opinion that charters are very dangerous and it is better to overpay and fly regularly. Here everyone decides for themselves.

The fact is that the charter executor can be any airline: Aeroflot, Ural Airlines, Vladavia, S7, etc. The pilots are the same, the flight attendants are the same, the quality of service and comfort is the same as when flying on a regular flight of this airline.

There is only one BUT - tour operators try to charter a ship from a less well-known and expensive airline. The desire to save money is understandable to everyone - as a rule, we also choose cheaper tickets.

Another disadvantage of a charter flight is frequent delays and delays. The fact is that for any airport, regular flights of companies are always a priority. The departure and arrival of a charter is usually inserted somewhere between them, as it happens.

When to look for and buy cheap charter flight tickets

It is not necessary to purchase a whole package from a travel company. You can purchase a ticket for a charter, and on the spot you can relax and travel completely independently.

If it is best to purchase tickets for regular flights in advance, since they are then much cheaper, then the situation with charter flights is different. There's no need to rush here. Typically, a charter ticket becomes significantly cheaper a week or even a couple of days before departure. The tour operator strives to fill the entire plane so as not to cancel the tour and begins to reduce the price of the tour, in the hope that thrifty tourists will take the bait and purchase a ticket at a bargain price. This often happens.

My family and I, for example, always book tickets to Egypt literally a few days before departure, although we start monitoring about a month in advance. The price difference is usually very significant!

The easiest way to find the cheapest air tickets for charter airline flights is on Avianity. The search will compare the cost of charter air tickets with offers from all travel agencies. You can buy charter tickets online directly from the Avianiti search on agency websites.

Search for cheap air tickets for charter flights without commissions

What is a charter flight

A charter flight (or charter) is a custom flight operated by airlines at the request of travel agencies and ticket agencies. Therefore, you can only buy air tickets for a charter flight from agencies; airlines do not sell air tickets for charter flights.

The main feature of charter flights is that departures are carried out at free time between regular flights. Because of this, the exact departure time of the charter is known only 24 hours in advance.

Types of charter flights

• A shuttle is a charter flight that brings one group and picks up another. Typically, shuttle charters fly at weekly intervals. Often you can buy very cheap air tickets for such charters, when the plane has no one to pick up or drop off - the first and last flights of the season.
• Charter sucks— the plane brings passengers and waits for them for the return flight. Such charter flights are carried out to distant exotic countries where there are no frequent flights and it is not profitable to send an empty plane back. Tickets for these charters are sold as part of a tour.
• Split - the airline's flight is divided into regular and charter. This could be one flight where some of the seats on the plane were purchased by the agency. Air tickets for such flights are often sold as part of a tour. Sometimes it is possible to buy a cheap air ticket just before the charter departure.

Where do charters fly?

Airline charter flights fly to tourist destinations during high season. In the Avianiti search you can buy air tickets for charters on the following routes:

Is it worth flying on charter flights?

You need to choose a charter flight based on the price of air tickets and the convenience of the flight. If there are no direct regular flights from the city to the chosen destination, but there are charter offers, then, of course, it is more convenient to fly non-stop on a charter flight. If the cost of a charter flight is not much different from a regular one, and the departure airport is busy, then it is better to choose a regular flight. If you buy air tickets along with a tour, check the difference in ticket prices between a charter and a regular flight to make the right choice.

Features of charter flights

Before buying air tickets for charter flights, we recommend that you learn about the features of charter flights. Air ticket search Avianiti has collected the main differences between charters and regular passenger flights so that you can choose the appropriate flight option.

1. Seasonal flights

Charters fly along popular tourist routes. Some air tickets for charter flights are sold by travel companies as part of a tourist package. Such charter flights are tied to the summer or winter season, so charter tickets are sold during the tourist seasons. To European destinations, for example, to Italy, the Czech Republic, Greece or Bulgaria, charters fly throughout the year without interruption.

2. Cheap flights

Air tickets for charter flights usually cost 30-40% cheaper than air tickets for regular flights. This difference is especially noticeable during the peak tourist season. Travel companies and agencies sell air tickets for charters at a single rate and completely fill the plane. Since the cost of air tickets does not depend on how busy the flight is, you can buy a cheap ticket for a charter flight a few days before departure.

3. No transfers

Charter flights operate non-stop. A charter may be the only way to get from Russian cities to famous resorts by direct flight. Air tickets for a charter flight will be cheaper than for a regular flight with a transfer.

4. Departure delays are possible

Charter flights do not have an exact departure time. Scheduled flights have departure priority over charters, so at busy airports there is a greater chance that a charter flight will experience a departure delay. Exact time Charter departures are announced 24 hours in advance. If the schedule changes, the airline, travel agency or ticket agency notifies passengers of the postponement of flights.

5. Non-refundable air tickets

Air tickets for charter flights are not refundable or exchangeable. Agencies sell only non-refundable air tickets to reduce risks and airfare costs. To reissue air tickets for another person, contact the company where you made the purchase.

6. No bonuses or accumulation of miles

When flying on a charter flight, the airline will not top up miles on the passenger's bonus card. Bonus and loyalty programs are not valid on charter flights.

The best promotions and special offers for charter flights of Russian and foreign airlines. Charter tickets to popular tourist destinations are selected at the lowest prices.

List of Russian airlines that operate charter flights on behalf of ticket agencies and travel companies. In addition to charter flights, airlines can operate scheduled flights.

Tatiana Solomatina

How and where to buy tickets for charter flights yourself?

Good afternoon, friends! Almost everyone knows how to buy tickets for regular flights. But charter flights remain a mystery to many.

Today I decided to correct this situation. The article contains full information on this issue. What are charter flights? How are they different from regular ones? Where to look for such a flight? How to buy tickets for charter flights yourself? What should you consider and what should you pay attention to?

As you can see, there are a lot of questions, read the post to the end, then the picture will become clearer.

Charter flight is a flight that is carried out on a special order. To put it simply, this is an air taxi. Only unlike the earthly one, rent it to the common man not possible. This is the lot of tourism operators, financial magnates and large companies that can afford to organize a corporate flight.

Typically, such flights are carried out along the ordered route in both directions. Wedged into a slot free from regular flights. Beneficial to airlines because tickets are sold as a package. They are beneficial to tour operators because they reduce the cost of a package tour and guarantee availability.

Pay attention! Charter flights are usually chartered round trip. Typically, the time interval is calculated in weekly cycles. Keep this in mind when planning your charter flight vacation. Because tickets with return after 7, 14, 21 days will most likely be cheaper, with a different interval.

How do tickets for charter flights appear?

Every year, millions of people go on vacation; most of them still prefer to use the services of travel agencies, buying ready-made tours. The complete package necessarily includes tickets for charter flights.

To deliver such a flow of people, it is profitable for tourism operators to enter into long-term contracts with airlines for individual transportation. They rent ships for their tours, counting on steady demand.

As a rule, one flight is chartered by several operators, because even the largest of them can find it difficult to fill the plane completely. Each operator owns a specific block of seats, which they must fill with passengers to avoid losses.

Usually contracts are concluded long before transportation, so there is always a risk of “buying the plane” and not implementing tours for this flight. Even the most advanced analysts cannot predict the demand for tours many months in advance with a 100% guarantee, so sometimes discrepancies arise in one direction or another. If there are more tourists, the issue is resolved more simply - tour sales are stopped, another plane is rented, or seats on regular flights are purchased. However, when demand decreases, the situation is more complex. In this case, operators have to either sharply reduce the cost of tours in order to attract people, or put free seats on the flight on open sale.

How are charter flights different from regular flights?

There is an opinion that charter flights are carried out on more “rolled” aircraft. I won’t argue, but I can’t completely agree with this either. I had to fly on brand new airliners on a package tour. It's a matter of chance here. Which plane you will get largely depends on the tour operator, on which airline it has an agreement with, and how fresh and large the carrier’s fleet of aircraft is. But this has little effect on flight speed, and safety is now strictly controlled. Therefore, I don’t think that this point plays any role when making a decision.

The time factor is much more important. The departure can be rescheduled within 24 hours, often when several flights are combined. Sometimes they change the airport, which also adds problems for passengers. True, this happens with regular flights, but much less often. As a rule, scheduled flights have priority over charter flights during departure. With the constant congestion of modern airports, especially in major cities, frequent and lengthy delays of charter flights are highly likely. If there is a queue for takeoff, the dispatcher will most likely release a regular flight, and ask the charter flight to wait.

It must be admitted that on regular flights the level of service is much higher. This can be felt literally in everything. The quality of food on board the charter is much worse, small selection of drinks, poor food. Related small items - disposable slippers, flight kits for children and more - are present only on regular flights. After landing, the charter is rarely adjusted to the “pipe”, which also does not add comfort, especially if you arrived from hot to cold.

There are no refundable tickets on charter flights. Although the majority of regular passengers prefer to buy the same ones, because their cost is much lower, but for some category of people this fact big minus. You cannot return it, but you can replace the passenger. This is at least a weak chance to get your money back. True, you will have to look for a replacement yourself, in rare cases, for a certain percentage; travel agencies help in this matter. By the way, this cannot be done with non-refundable tickets on regular flights.

Regular flights have another advantage over their opponents. There are no divisions for children's or adult tickets on charters. All seats are at the same price, regardless of the passenger's age. They also do not have such privileges as bonus miles.

Unlike regular flights, charter flights have limited quantity directions. As a rule, these are places in demand by package tourists, and flights are operated only during the season.

There is one more drawback that must be taken into account. Often the arrival airport for charters is not the most convenient. For example, charter flights are not operated to Venice. They land in Rimini or another less popular airport nearby. Because of this, tourists have to transfer for many hours. Thus, airlines save money to make the flight budget. In the central harbors, voyage services are much more expensive than in less famous neighbors.

However, charter flights have one very big plus - their cost. All the inconveniences of charter flights listed above are actually nonsense if you manage to purchase the desired ticket much cheaper than regular airline fares. It is not always possible for everyone to save money, because it is not so easy to find and buy cheap charter tickets on your own.

How and where to buy tickets for charter flights?

The peculiarity of searching for such tickets is, first of all, that they are rare and not in full uploaded to popular booking systems. Unlike regular flights, they need to be found in a more complex way.

To get started, go to the well-known aggregator Aviasales https://www.aviasales.ru. As usual, enter your parameters and start the search.

To see exactly charter tickets, use the filter. To do this, on the left in the “Agencies” tab, remove the extra checkboxes, leaving only “Clickavia” opposite. However, I don’t see much point in this, if the ticket is cheap, he will be in the first row anyway. But for general information, you can take a look.

Next you need to look at the offers of lesser-known search engines that specialize more in charter tickets - http://www.chabooka.ru/ And http://www.charter24.ru/. Both have a clear and user-friendly interface that even a person unfamiliar with them can understand.

Already on the first page there are offers for popular destinations, which helps to get a rough picture of existing prices and directions. Familiarize yourself with them, read the rules, there is a lot of information and it is presented in an accessible way. As always, fill out the form and study the offers.

Another opportunity to buy tickets for charter flights, use the website http://allcharter.ru. This is a kind of portal where companies themselves post offers for charter and scheduled transportation. The prices there are indicative, indicated in foreign currency, but telephone numbers are published opposite each offer. Therefore, if you see an acceptable option, call. Just be prepared for this turn: “Remained last places, urgently run to the other end of the city...” It happens that upon arrival, these particular tickets have already “gone”, but there are more expensive ones, etc. I want to say right away that this situation is not always, so you should not neglect this method.

There are also resources such as http://www.cheaptrip.ru/. Here you can catch a profitable option not only for a charter flight, but also for a tour, which on a turn-key basis can cost less than the flight itself. But this is a complex portal, there are many conditions that are not suitable for everyone. However, you need to pay attention to it.

If there is absolutely nothing suitable, you will have to go through the websites of the most famous tour operators - Biblio Globus, TUI, AnexTour, etc. The interfaces of their resources are of course “tricky”, but if you want, you can figure it out. Doesn't work? Pick up the phone and call them. Central tourist operators have excellent customer service.

As you can see, it’s not easy to buy cheap charter tickets; you still have to run after them, and without any guarantee of a positive result.

Conclusion

Expensive tickets for regular flights are easy to buy. But to find a really cheap charter option, you need to work hard, spend more time and effort. And if you are lucky enough to fly on a budget, then you should put up with all the inconveniences of charter flights. After all, you have to pay for everything; it is almost impossible to provide a service cheaply and efficiently. These concepts are rarely combined, so you need to be prepared for difficulties, especially since it is your choice.

Read about how to buy air tickets online. Don’t forget about it when traveling, it’s certainly not required everywhere, but it’s necessary for your own peace of mind. I described in detail how to book a hotel.

If you have any questions on the topic, ask them in the comments. If you liked the article, share it on social networks, perhaps it will help your friends save on their flights. Now I say goodbye, subscribe to blog updates, new readers are always welcome.

Tatiana Solomatina