Delaware charter flights run on a wide range of aircraft, from piston aircraft for short hops up to airliner-size aircraft for large groups. The categories below cover what each type does well and which Delaware trips fit it.
Category Overview
Every category has its own page listing the aircraft we arrange in it, with cabin, range, seating and a charter pricing reference on each one.
- Piston aircraft – the shortest regional runs into small fields
- Turboprops – short legs and airfields that jets cannot use
- Helicopters – sites that no runway serves
- Very light jets – two or three passengers on a short jet leg
- Light jets – four to six passengers across the Northeast corridor
- Super light jets – a longer leg than a light jet without midsize costs
- Midsize jets – a stand-up cabin and range across most of the country
- Super midsize jets – coast to coast without a fuel stop
- Heavy jets – a large cabin on a long flight
- Long range jets – nonstop intercontinental travel
- VIP airliners – groups that outgrow a heavy jet
Picking the Right Category
Three things decide the category, and passenger count is only one of them. The second is baggage: a group that fits the seats can still outgrow the baggage compartment, and that is the constraint people most often forget. The third is the airport at the far end, because a short or unlit runway rules out aircraft that the distance would otherwise suit.
Above nineteen passengers the trip leaves FAR Part 135 regulations for FAR Part 121 regulations or the foreign equivalent, which carries stricter crew and operating requirements than either Part 91 or Part 135. Below that, tell us the passenger count, the baggage and where you need to be, and your advisor will come back with the categories that actually fit rather than the largest aircraft available.
The runway required on the day is a performance calculation the operator makes for that aircraft, at that weight, in the conditions on your date, so we confirm it with them for your specific trip.
Vetting Behind Every Trip
Every operator, aircraft, and crew goes through our internal due diligence before we present any options. Our internal standards meet or exceed what the FAA requires:
- FAR Part 135 charter operators for traditional private aircraft, or FAR Part 121 for airliner-size and group trips (or the foreign equivalent on international legs)
- Operator subscription to Wyvern and ARGUS reviewed where the operator participates; reports may be provided on request.
- Pilot experience and operator incident history reviewed before we recommend an aircraft.
- Fewer than 60 brokers worldwide hold Premium Wyvern Broker Member status, and Air Charter Advisors is one of them.
Delaware Patterns We Plan Around
Delaware has three public airports and only one of them has a control tower. New Castle Airport (KILG), four miles south of Wilmington, carries almost all of the state’s jet traffic and is a customs landing rights airport. Delaware Coastal Airport (KGED) near Georgetown is a customs landing rights airport too, but it has no tower and is attended from eight in the morning until six in the evening. Summit Airport (KEVY) north of Middletown is privately owned and also uncontrolled.
Through the summer the Sussex County beaches at Rehoboth, Bethany and Lewes drive demand toward Delaware Coastal, which is the airport with the shortest attended day, so timings there are worth agreeing on early. Delaware has no scheduled passenger airline service, so there is no commercial fallback if a plan changes late.
Contact
Call 1-888-987-5387 or request a quote and we will come back with aircraft that fit the trip. The phone is answered at any hour, on any day of the year. For how we review the operator behind every flight, see our safety page.