Charter Flights

Charter Flight - Hiring a Plane

Charter flight - hiring a plane and a pilot for travel to a specific destination - goes all the way back to 1913 when an enterprising pilot started carrying passengers between San Francisco and Oakland (the only other alternative in those days before the Bay Bridge was a slow-moving ferryboat), it was actually the federal government who made the first use of charter flight in the sense of hiring individuals and small companies. The year was 1918, and the purpose was to carry the mail for corporate business and banking interests. The reason was to reduce the “float time” on checks during which funds were unavailable. By 1925, airmail was being carried on a regular schedule.