Private charters fall into one of two categories: single-entity private charters refer to a flight carrying a single organization or entity where individual travelers are not paying for their fares, while an affinity charter refers to a single organization flying with participants paying for their airfare. Public charters are those with sales open to the public, and require a Department of Transportation surety bond and other regulations.
Charter flights are governed under Part 135 and Part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. With these regulations passengers are ensured a safe aircraft and professionally-trained pilots.
Passengers on many charter flights are subjected to the same screening and airport checks as other flights, as governed by the Transportation Security Administration. However, passengers on small flights can avoid this. According to the New York Times, a business jet passenger "simply walks, or is driven, to the door of the plane and boards without going through a metal detector or a pat-down."
