AOG replacement charter
Aircraft On Ground?
Replacement Lift
When an aircraft goes tech with a trip on the books, the problem is not the maintenance — it is the passengers standing in the FBO. This page is for operators, brokers and flight departments who need replacement lift today.
For operators, brokers, flight departments and handling agents
Send these six things and skip three phone calls
Current position of the passengers by ICAO code, destination, passenger count, bag count and type, earliest realistic departure, and nationalities on board if the sector leaves the Schengen area or the UK. That is enough to start looking. What is wrong with your aircraft does not change the search — how long it will be down does, because it decides whether you need one sector or the whole rotation covered.
What actually decides how fast a replacement can move
Not the aircraft — the aircraft is usually the easy part. It is where the nearest suitable aircraft is sitting and how long it takes to position to you. Whether its crew have duty hours left, or need rest before they can start. Whether the departure and arrival airports have slots and parking at the time you need them. Whether permits or customs are involved. A replacement two hours away with a fresh crew beats one an hour away whose crew are out of hours, and that is the arithmetic that decides your answer.
Subcharter, and being straight about the position
Ben Aviation is an authorised introducer, not an air carrier, and holds no AOC. What that means in an AOG is simple: we source replacement lift from certificated operators and the operating carrier is named to you before anything is confirmed. If you are an operator placing a subcharter you already know why that distinction matters, and you will want the carrier's details for your own compliance file. You get them up front.
What we will not tell you
That we have an aircraft standing by, or that we can be airborne in a stated number of hours. Nobody honest can promise either. Availability at short notice is genuinely unpredictable and depends entirely on where suitable aircraft happen to be that afternoon. What you will get is a straight answer quickly, including a straight no, which is more useful at four in the afternoon than an optimistic maybe.
Once your aircraft is serviceable again
The recovery or positioning sector is a separate job and often the easier one to arrange. If the delay has also knocked your own crew out of position or out of hours, contract pilot cover is a different service on this site — FAA-licensed, CE-750 rated, UK based, which is a useful combination if the aircraft is N-registered and stuck in Europe.
Why a pilot answering is worth something here
An AOG call is full of operational questions that a sales desk has to relay: will that aircraft take the bags, can it use that runway with a full cabin, is the arrival slot realistic, does the crew have the hours. Those get answered in the conversation rather than three emails later. When the trip is already late, that is most of the value.
Common questions
How quickly can you find a replacement aircraft?
It depends entirely on where suitable aircraft are and whether their crews have duty hours available. We will not quote a standard response time or claim aircraft on standby — but we will give you a straight answer quickly, including a no.
Do you hold an AOC?
No. Ben Aviation is an authorised charter introducer. Replacement lift is operated by appropriately certificated third-party air carriers, and the operating carrier is identified before anything is confirmed.
Can you handle a subcharter for our operation?
Yes. Send the sector details and passenger and baggage numbers. Operator details are provided with the quotation so they can go straight into your compliance file.
What information do you need first?
Passenger position by ICAO code, destination, passenger and bag count, earliest realistic departure, and nationalities if the sector crosses the Schengen or UK border. Expected downtime helps too, since it decides whether one sector or a whole rotation needs covering.
Can you also cover our crew?
That is a separate service — see contract pilot cover. FAA Commercial Pilot with a CE-750 type rating, based in the UK, which is relevant if the aircraft is N-registered.
Book direct with a pilot