London has five business aviation airports and a large resident fleet, so a trip arranged this morning for this afternoon is an ordinary request. Send the passport details and your latest useful arrival time with the first message, and we move straight to options.
In partnership with Harrods Aviation · Signature Aviation · SW Global
The honest position
London is one of the best places in the world to charter at short notice. There are five business aviation airports within reach of the city, a large resident fleet and a steady flow of aircraft repositioning through. A trip arranged this morning for this afternoon is an ordinary request rather than a heroic one.
What we will not do is agree to a departure time before we know it can be met. Several things have to line up, some of them outside anybody's control, and the useful thing we can do at nine in the morning is tell you truthfully whether eleven o'clock is realistic or whether two o'clock is. Our operations run around the clock, so the answer comes quickly whatever the hour.
What sets the clock
| What | Why it matters | How much time it can add |
|---|---|---|
| Where the aircraft is | If a suitable aircraft is already at a London airport, nothing has to be flown in. If the nearest one is in Italy, it has to get here first. | Anything from none to several hours |
| Crew availability | The crew must be legally rested and within their permitted duty period for the whole trip, including the return. A perfectly good aircraft with an out-of-hours crew cannot go. | Hours, or the whole day |
| Airport hours and slots | Some airports close at night, some require prior permission, and the busier ones allocate departure slots. Mountain and island airfields are the strictest. | Minutes to several hours |
| Border formalities | For flights to or from the United Kingdom the operator must file a General Aviation Report with Border Force, no earlier than 48 hours and no later than two hours before departure. | A hard floor of two hours, from when we have your passport details |
| Permits | A few destinations require overflight or landing permits that are issued in office hours by a government, not by the operator. | Hours to days, and not negotiable |
| The paperwork and the payment | The charter agreement has to be signed and funds cleared before the aircraft is released. This is the part most often underestimated. | Usually the longest avoidable delay |
| Weather and de-icing | In winter an aircraft may need de-icing before it can move, and the queue for it is not controlled by anyone you can call. | Unpredictable, worst on frosty mornings |
This is why two operators can give different answers about the same departure time. We tell you which of these applies to your trip rather than quoting a flat figure.
Have this ready
If you send this with the first message, we can usually move straight to options. Chasing it afterwards is what costs the hour you were trying to save.
Same day
Achievable more often than people expect, especially from London to Europe.
Next day
Comfortable in most cases, and usually better value than the same day.
Cheaper at short notice
Short notice is not always expensive. Aircraft repositioning empty between trips are at their cheapest close to departure, because the operator would rather carry someone than nobody. If you can accept the route and the rough timing that already exists, an empty leg can cost a fraction of the same flight arranged properly. The trade is certainty: an empty leg depends on somebody else's trip and can move or vanish, so for a meeting or a connection you should charter properly.
Request a quote
Route, latest useful arrival time, number of passengers and passport details if you have them. For anything today, call or send a WhatsApp as well as the form. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
It depends entirely on where a suitable aircraft and a rested crew happen to be, and on the two-hour minimum for filing passenger details on flights to and from the UK. From London to Europe, a departure the same day is often achievable. Call and we will give you a real answer rather than a comfortable one.
Sometimes, because the choice is narrower and an aircraft may have to be positioned in. Sometimes it costs a good deal less, if the aircraft was flying that way anyway. It is genuinely unpredictable, which is why we quote rather than guess. See what charter costs.
Because the operator is legally required to file a report on every passenger with Border Force before a flight to or from the United Kingdom, and it cannot be filed later than two hours before departure. Without the details the aircraft cannot go, however ready everything else is.
The charter agreement sets out the cancellation terms and they tighten sharply close to departure. We explain them before you sign, and we would rather you understood them at the time than discovered them afterwards.
In London and Manchester, yes, because the chauffeurs are ours. Elsewhere we arrange the car through operators we know and will tell you honestly how long that takes at the far end.
One contact, wherever you are
