Glossary
Dry Lease
Why it matters
Why dry lease matters
Paid passenger trips arranged through dry-lease or friend-with-a-jet patterns may not be Part 135 commercial charter. Buyers who wire money assuming airline-level protections may be on a different regulatory and insurance structure than they think.
Cost
How it affects cost
Dry-lease economics are owner-to-user arrangements, not retail charter hourly rates. A quote far below market paired with lease language deserves scrutiny before you treat it as a normal broker proposal.
Example
A quick example
Related terms
Other terms to know
Common questions
Can passengers fly on a dry lease?
People do, but paid passenger transport for hire belongs under Part 135 with a commercial operator. Dry-lease vacation trips arranged informally carry different legal and insurance assumptions.
How is dry lease different from charter?
Charter under Part 135 names an operator responsible for crew, maintenance, and release. Dry lease gives you aircraft access; you or another party supply crew under a different rule set.
Is dry lease always illegal?
Lease structures can be legitimate between qualified parties. The risk for charter buyers is paying passenger-transport prices without Part 135 operator identity and commercial protections.
Guides that explain this
- Part 135 Charter Explained for BuyersWhat Part 135 means for charter buyers, how it differs from Part 91, and how to verify the operator before deposit.
- Charter Quote Red Flags: Read a Proposal Like an OperatorOperator and broker literacy for $15k–$80k trips: Part 135, ARGUS and Wyvern, FET, segment fees, repositioning, minimum hours, duty time, de-icing, airport pairs, category mistakes, and quote red flags.
- Broker vs Operator: Who Are You Actually Hiring?Charter broker vs Part 135 operator: who holds the certificate, who you pay, wire safety, substitution clauses, and what to verify before deposit.
- Charter Insurance and Liability: What Passengers Should KnowWhat Part 135 operator insurance covers on charter flights, when to request a certificate of insurance, and why gray-market trips carry different risk.
Calculators that use this
Last reviewed May 2026. Estimates use planning assumptions that we revisit periodically.