Terms of business for a private jet charter broker: cancellations, deposits and consumer rights

At a glance

A Manchester private jet charter broker needed terms of business and a booking agreement that worked for the way it sells flights. Charter is a business of high-value bookings, short notice and things outside anyone's control, from weather to aircraft availability. We drafted terms covering cancellations, deposits, liability and its role as broker, with the consumer and package travel rules built in. They were finalised in the summer of 2026.

The client and the objective

The client wanted terms that protected its cash flow and its exposure when bookings changed, while being clear and fair enough to stand up if a customer challenged them. Many of its customers are individuals, which brings consumer protection law into play.

What the terms cover

• How bookings are made and confirmed, and what the customer is buying.
• Deposits, payment timing and what happens to payments on cancellation.
• A cancellation and change policy for customer cancellations and for flights that cannot operate.
• The broker's role in arranging the flight with the operator, and the limits of its liability.

Key legal issues and how we solved them

Cancellations and deposits

Cancellation charges have to reflect the business's real exposure. A sliding scale tied to how close to departure the customer cancels protects the business when it has committed costs, and is far more defensible against a consumer than a flat forfeit of everything paid.

Making the broker's role clear

A charter broker arranges flights on aircraft run by operators that hold their own air operator certificates; it does not fly the aircraft itself. If the terms leave that unclear, a customer can treat the broker as responsible for everything that happens on the flight. The terms set out that the client acts as broker, which operator's conditions of carriage apply to the flight, and what the broker itself is and is not responsible for.

Consumer rights and package travel

When the customer is a consumer, unfair terms can be unenforceable and the business has duties about the information it gives. Where flights are sold together with other travel services, the package travel rules may also apply, with obligations that cannot be contracted out of. The terms were drafted with those rules in mind.

Liability

Liability for the flight itself is largely governed by aviation law and international conventions. The terms deal with the rest: the business's liability for delays, missed connections and things outside its control, capped where the law allows.

Outcome

The new terms of business and booking agreement were finalised in the summer of 2026 and are now used for the client's bookings.

What this deal shows

• Cancellation charges should track real costs; that is what makes them enforceable.
• A broker must make clear that it is a broker, and who actually operates the flight.
• Selling travel to consumers brings rules that terms cannot override, so build them in from the start.