Part 295: The Six Disclosures Every Air Charter Broker Owes You

A private charter often involves more than one company. The broker sells and arranges the trip, while a separate operator flies it. For years, many buyers could not tell those roles apart.

Part 295 draws the line in law. Under the rule, an air charter broker sells or arranges single-entity charters flown by a direct air carrier. A single-entity charter is one where the charterer pays for the whole aircraft, not individual seats.

Operational control means the exercise of authority over initiating, conducting, or terminating a flight. Under Part 295, that authority always sits with the operator. A broker must name who holds it and must never imply that it does.

Part 295 is also an exemption. It lets brokers sell air transportation without an air carrier certificate, but only while they follow its conditions. DOT can alter, suspend, or revoke that authority without a hearing to protect the public.

The rule reaches large and small aircraft alike. Small aircraft means 60 seats or fewer, or 18,000 lbs of payload or less. On small aircraft only, passengers who pool together to hire the whole aircraft also count as a single entity.

The two rules connect in one place. A broker may only arrange flights with operators holding DOT economic authority and FAA safety authority. It cannot sell a flight the operator is not authorized to run.

Part 295 recognizes three capacities, and your contract must say which one applies. The choice changes who you are dealing with and whose interests the broker represents.

• Indirect air carrier: the broker acts as principal. It contracts with the operator separately and sells the flight to you in its own name.
• Agent of the charterer: the broker acts for you, arranging the flight with the operator on your behalf.
• Agent of the operator: the broker acts for the carrier, selling its capacity.

A broker can switch roles from one booking to the next, but only with express authorization. That is why the capacity disclosure matters on every contract, not just the first one.

Section 295.24 lists six pieces of information. Three are owed before you sign, without asking. The other three are owed before you sign if you request them.

Most buyers never ask for the second group. Ask anyway, because the total-cost disclosure is the fairest way to compare two quotes.

• Quote: a broker can present several aircraft and operators as options while you decide.
• Before signing: the three automatic disclosures arrive, plus any you have asked for.
• After signing: anything unknown or changed must reach you within a reasonable time.
• Late notice: if a disclosure misses that window, you may cancel and receive a full refund.
• Before departure: every required or requested disclosure must be complete before the flight begins.
• Mid-trip changes: the same notice rule applies, with a refund for the unused portion if notice is late.

DOT gave an example in the final rule. If the operator changes one week before the flight, notice within 24 hours would be reasonable. Notice two hours before departure would not, because you would have no real chance to decide.

All broker advertising, including web pages, must clearly state three things. The company is an air charter broker. It is not a direct air carrier in operational control of aircraft. The service is provided by a properly licensed direct air carrier.

That is why the Hogani Jets site carries this broker disclaimer. It is also why Hogani's content avoids describing any aircraft as its own. A broker that calls an aircraft its own risks implying it is the carrier.

Section 295.50 lists eleven practices DOT treats as unfair or deceptive. In plain terms, a broker may not do any of the following.

• Suggest it is the direct air carrier, or use its name in a way that confuses its status.
• Misstate the aircraft type, the service level, the schedule, the route, the stops or the trip time.
• Misstate pilot qualifications, safety records or the certification of pilots, aircraft or carriers.
• Claim passengers are directly insured when they are not.
• Misstate fares, charges or the conditions a charterer must meet.
• Misstate membership in an auditing organization, or claim a carrier meets an auditor's standard when it does not.
• Say an operator, aircraft or time is booked without a binding commitment.
• Sell a flight it knows, or should know, cannot legally be operated.

The insurance point is subtle. The rule's own example is implied passenger cover where the only policy protects the operator or broker.

The auditing point explains careful safety language. Every operator's Part 135 certificate, insurance coverage, and safety record is independently reviewed before booking, with ARGUS, Wyvern, or IS-BAO ratings considered where they exist as one part of that review.

Hogani Jets' own Operator Confidence Mark follows the same logic. It is presented as a professional opinion, never as an audit or a certification.

Brokers must promptly refund all money paid when the charter cannot be performed. The same applies whenever a refund is otherwise due. Card payments follow federal credit card billing rules, and cash or check payments must be refunded within 20 days.

DOT can bring enforcement proceedings before the Department or in federal court, and seek civil penalties. Willful violations can lead to criminal penalties.

• Look up the named operator on the FAA's list of certificated Part 135 operators.
• Ask for the aircraft's tail number and confirm it appears on that operator's certificate.
• For flights between two US cities, confirm the operator is a US carrier. Foreign carriers cannot fly domestic legs.
• Treat third-party safety ratings as one input, alongside the operator's history and insurance.
• Report a suspected illegal charter to the FAA hotline at 1-866-835-5322 or safeaircharter@faa.gov.

The FAA publishes a spreadsheet of certificated charter operators and the aircraft authorized on each certificate. It is searchable by operator name or aircraft registration number and is updated weekly.

Part 295 covers interstate and foreign air transportation under US law, including flights to and from the United States. A charter flown entirely between two foreign points falls under that country's rules instead. Other countries regulate brokers differently, and some barely at all.

Hogani Jets acts as an air charter broker on every booking. Like every broker, it must disclose the operator's name, its own capacity, and its insurance position before you sign.

A broker owns no aircraft and is tied to no single operator. That independence is the point of the model, and Part 295 makes it visible. The most useful question to ask any broker is simple: what happens if the operator changes?

Why is it often called FAA Part 295 if DOT issued it?

It sits in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, where most FAA rules live. The DOT Office of the Secretary wrote it and enforces it.

Do charter brokers need a license or registration?

No. DOT declined to create a broker registry or license. Private groups offer voluntary broker audits, and falsely claiming one is itself a violation.

Can a broker add its own fee on top of the operator's price?

Yes. Broker fees are part of the total cost, which you can ask to see. Individual fees do not have to be itemized.

Do the disclosures have to be in writing?

They can be sent electronically, by email or through a booking portal. Keeping a written copy protects you if a dispute arises later.

Can a broker put its logo on the aircraft?

Yes, but only if the operator's name is also shown prominently. Passengers must not be misled into thinking the broker is the carrier.

Do jet card programs sold by brokers follow Part 295?

Yes. The disclosures still apply before each specific flight is contracted, even when the card sets rates by aircraft category.

Does Part 295 apply to empty leg flights?

Yes, when a broker sells the whole aircraft to one charterer. Empty legs sold seat by seat work differently and may fall under other rules.

Does Part 295 apply to a broker based outside the US?

Yes. Foreign indirect air carriers are covered when they sell charters within its scope. That includes flights to or from the United States.

Is the federal excise tax included in the total cost?

It should be. The total-cost disclosure covers government taxes, and domestic charters carry the 7.5 percent federal excise tax.

Where can I complain about a broker?

File a complaint with the DOT Office of Aviation Consumer Protection. Keep the written disclosures, contract and payment records to support it.