Charter Quote Compliance Checklist
Before dispatching a charter quote, Part 135 operators must verify eight compliance points. Here's what each one means, why it matters, and where to find the governing regulation.
The planned route, area of operation, and any special authorizations must be explicitly covered in your Operations Specifications. An operator may not fly outside their authorized areas — even at a client's request.
The PIC must hold at least an ATP certificate and meet the aircraft type-rating and experience requirements for the specific operation. The SIC must meet §135.245 minimums. Minimum flight experience, instrument time, and type-specific training must all be current.
Every assigned crew member must be within the §135.267 flight time limits for the 24-hour window and cumulative periods, and must have received the required rest before the planned duty period. This is the single most common source of illegal assignments.
A Flight Risk Assessment Tool must be scored before departure. Most certificate holders' GOMs require this for every flight; the FAA strongly recommends it under AC 120-74. Any RED score requires a Director of Operations override before the quote can be accepted.
Verify that forecasted weather at departure, en-route alternates, and destination meets or exceeds the applicable IFR or VFR minimums for the planned operation. Check TAFs and METARs for the complete ETE window, not just departure time.
The specific aircraft tail number being quoted must be listed in your Operations Specifications. Ferrying a client in an aircraft recently added to your fleet — but not yet in OpSpecs — is a certificate violation regardless of the aircraft's airworthiness.
Before the flight is dispatched, the customer or authorized broker must have accepted the quote in writing. Pricing, any applicable FET pass-through, cancellation terms, and luggage limitations should be confirmed. Verbal-only acceptance creates disputes and audit exposure.
Dispatch records, load manifests, crew duty logs, weather briefs, and the signed FRAT must all be retained per the §135.63(a) schedule — typically 6 months to 5 years depending on record type. Confirm your filing process before the aircraft departs.
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