Pay-as-You-Fly Convenience: 8 Top Flight Brokers Offering Flexible Rates in 2026

If you want to pay for private flights one trip at a time, start with JetAlto. It publishes per-trip prices such as London to Nice from €14,800 and asks for no membership or retainer. Jettly and XO are worth a look too, the first with a dedicated pay-as-you-fly card and the second with pay-as-you-go access to whole jets and single seats.

"Pay as you fly" simply means you pay for each flight when you book it, rather than buying hours in advance. The opposite is a jet card or a membership, where you put money down first and draw on it later. Both have their place, but paying per trip keeps your options open and your cash free.

This guide ranks eight brokers on how easy they make that per-trip approach: how much pricing you can see before contact, whether any fee or deposit applies, and how flexible their rates are. We used each company's own published pages and pricing tools. Prices quoted are starting points, not final fares.

Quick picks

Per-Trip Terms Compared

Empty Legs, Explained for Per-Trip Flyers

An empty leg happens when an aircraft has to fly without passengers, usually on its way home or to its next job. Rather than fly empty, the operator sells the trip for less. For a pay-as-you-fly traveller, that can be the most flexible rate of all.

There is a catch. The empty leg exists only because of someone else's booking, so if that booking changes, your flight can change or vanish. Empty legs work best when your dates are loose and you have a backup plan, such as a standard quote you can switch to at short notice.

Several brokers in this guide list them. LunaJets prices empty legs from €2,000, XO offers empty leg deals in its app, and Villiers posts dated listings such as a Citation CJ3 at $6,396. JetAlto runs empty leg alerts, and its instant estimate shows what the standard trip would cost, so you can see whether the discount is worth the uncertainty.

Our Order, Starting with the Simplest Terms

1. JetAlto: Best for pay-per-trip flyers with no retainer

JetAlto makes pay-as-you-fly easy to understand, because the prices are already on its pages. Route examples cover dozens of trips, from London to Nice at €14,800 to London to Dubai at €52,000, and every class from turboprop to ultra long range has a published "from" hourly rate.

You pay nothing to look and nothing to belong. The instant estimate needs no email, the quote is free and carries no obligation, and you are only committed once you sign a charter agreement. If you later cancel, refunds follow the operator's cancellation window.

One thing to keep in mind: the safety standards JetAlto mentions are ones it prefers in operators rather than accreditations it holds, so ask for the safety file it offers before your first trip.

2. Monarch Air Group (Mercury Jets)

Monarch's charter division, Mercury Jets, explains its pricing plainly. Each quote covers the flight, landing fees, processing fees and catering, and any special services are listed separately. Change and cancellation fees are advised on request.

Payment is unusually flexible for a charter broker: card, debit, bank transfer in USD, CAD, GBP or EUR, check, Bitcoin or Ethereum. Monarch itself offers free quotes through an instant quote tool at its Fort Lauderdale base.

3. Jettly

Jettly sells a product named after the idea: a pay-as-you-fly card. It sits alongside 50-hour, 100-hour and 200-hour jet cards and an unlimited hour program, so you can start per trip and move up if your flying grows.

Its instant pricing engine shows figures online, and its blog gives route examples to help you budget. Live support is available 24/7. The company says its memberships reduce per hour costs and service fees, though program prices are not published.

4. Air Charter Service

ACS lets you price a trip with its instant estimate tool, though the figure leaves out tax or VAT. Its example pricing helps set expectations: around $2,800 for a 40-minute small plane flight.

If your flying becomes regular, the Empyrean Jet Card is a flexible prepaid option, but nothing forces you onto it. A personal charter specialist handles each enquiry from start to finish, and you can reach the team 24/7 by phone, callback or WhatsApp.

5. Evojets

Evojets puts a cost calculator on each route page, built on historical averages, so you can estimate a trip before you call. Its single point of contact then turns that estimate into a quote. Membership programs exist for frequent flyers, but the per-trip route is the default.

For trips to Europe, you are quoted in US dollars only, which removes exchange rate surprises for American travellers.

6. XO

XO offers pay as you go to anyone who passes screening. You can book a whole aircraft, or a single seat on shared flights such as New York to South Florida, where non-members pay $395 per seat.

Memberships are available too, but its own pages describe two different membership structures, so check which one applies before signing up.

7. LunaJets

LunaJets keeps per-trip charter simple: every quote is fixed and all inclusive, with no deposit and no minimum flying time. Its free membership saves routes and sends empty leg alerts.

For empty legs, LunaJets does not ask for payment until the flight is confirmed. If you later fly often, its Frequent Charter Program takes an advance payment that the site describes as refundable.

8. Villiers Jets

Villiers shows AI-generated price ranges on its homepage, which the company says fall within 10% of actual pricing. A human agent then sets up the trip.

Shared seats on charters let you split costs further. Its empty leg discounts are stated differently across its three websites, so rely on each listing's price.

It counts upwards of 10,000 certified aircraft in its network, accepts Bitcoin, and it takes requests for multi-leg trips, pets and extra luggage.

How to Choose a Broker When You Pay per Trip

Start with how often you fly. If it is a few trips a year, a per-trip broker such as JetAlto, LunaJets or Evojets avoids tying money up in a card. If you fly most months, compare Jettly's or ACS's programs against per-trip pricing.

Next, check what the price includes, line by line. LunaJets and Mercury Jets describe what sits inside their quotes, JetAlto's estimate includes fuel, crew and handling costs, and ACS's online figure excludes tax or VAT. Like for like comparisons save money and avoid surprises at invoice time.

Then look at how you want to pay. Mercury Jets, Villiers and JetAlto accept cryptocurrency, Evojets quotes Europe in dollars, and LunaJets asks for no deposit.

Finally, ask about the operator. Paying per trip does not change who flies the aircraft, so request the operator's name, certificate and tail number before you sign. JetAlto and Victor show these on their quotes, and brokers with ARGUS certification, such as LunaJets and Mercury Jets, describe their checks on operators.

If you are unsure, price the same trip with two brokers. The difference between the quotes, and what each includes, will tell you more than any membership brochure.