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Junkets and Charters

Passengers looking for safety, security and productivity have led to an increasing demand for junket and charter flights. Even though junkets and charters offer many advantages to the flying public, there are several factors that increase the possibility for crashes. In many cases, the pilots, planes, booking company and mechanics may be employed and/or owned by different companies; however, in the case of commercial airlines, these functions are normally contained or done in-house within that carrier or a common parent company.

A junket is defined as a trip made by an official and funded by the public or a promotional trip made at the expense of a third party. The most common types are casino, press, film and/or political junkets. Chartered flights are a similar category of aviation, designed to fit the needs of specific groups and/or destination flying, but at the passenger or company’s expense. 

Be an Educated Passenger

If you are looking to charter an aircraft, education on the basics of charter flights and the company are important before you book the flight. As a consumer, you should pay attention to more than price, including:

  • whether the company has a current registration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
  • the safety record of both the company and the pilots
  • the age and maintenance records of the company’s fleet

Reviewing and Researching Junket and Charter Crashes

Although commercial aviation is subject to many of the same weaknesses and/or risks as charters and junkets, the small scale exposes charters and junkets to different types of risks. Charter aircraft are largely regulated under the Commuter and On-Demand Operations rules of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR). These regulations grow more stringent with both the increase in demand as well as the rise in number of accidents such as the crash of Payne Stewart’s chartered flight in October 1999, the Challenger aircraft accident at the Teterboro Airport in February 2005, and most recently the July 2008 East Coast Jets crash in Minnesota.

Some of the main questions in a junket or charter crash investigation may include:

  • Who is in charge of oversight?
  • Which party is responsible for the junket or charter operation as a whole?
  • Are there contracts between the parties that allocate risk and liability?

The increasing number of parties involved can lead to a finger-pointing game during the crash investigation. The difficulty in identifying the proper parties, should a crash occur, can be handled by experienced aviation counsel. The Motley Rice aviation team is well-versed in the complexities involved with the litigating the range of litigation, from smaller charter or junket operations to major airline crashes.

Contact Us

If you or someone you know is interested in seeking legal recourse due to wrongful death or personal injury as a result of a junket or charter crash, please contact Motley Rice aviation attorney and former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Mary Schiavo by email or call +1 800.868.6456.