Your first charter: what happens at the FBO

No shuttle, no counter, no security line, no gate. The sequence from the drive in to the door closing, with the one address mistake to avoid.

Put the FBO's name in your GPS, not the airport's. The first-timer briefing fits in that one line, and the rest of this is the reason. The biggest surprise of a first charter is how little airport there is: no parking shuttle, no check-in counter, no security line, no gate. Here is the sequence, so none of it feels uncertain.

You are going to the FBO, not the terminal

Private flights leave from an FBO, a fixed-base operator, which is the private terminal on the general-aviation side of the field. Your operator will tell you which FBO and give you its street address. The entrance is not the one you know from commercial flights. Search the FBO by name and leave the airport's name out of it.

Arrive about 15 minutes out

There is no 2 hours early. Most passengers arrive 15 to 30 minutes before departure. You pull in, someone greets you by name, and your bags go from your trunk to the aircraft. At many fields you can drive onto the ramp or park steps from the door. The FBO works like the valet stand at a restaurant: you pull up, somebody takes care of the car, and you walk in. There is usually a lobby with coffee if you are early. Many people walk straight through.

No TSA, but bring your ID

Charter passengers do not clear a TSA checkpoint. The crew checks who you are against the manifest, so carry a government ID. Bags are not x-rayed and liquids are not rationed. Pack what fits the aircraft, and tell the operator ahead of time about anything unusual: skis, golf clubs, a pet.

Meet the crew, then go

The pilots greet you at the aircraft, give a short safety briefing, and answer anything you want to know. There is no boarding process. When you are aboard and the door closes, you go. Car door to takeoff at a quiet field is routinely under 20 minutes. The 2 hours you build into a commercial trip becomes the drive plus 15.

The airport you know is a building. The one you are about to use is a driveway with a runway behind it.

Landing is the same, in reverse

You taxi to the destination FBO, the door opens, and your car (rental, ride, or arranged ground transport) is a few steps away, provided you booked it to the FBO's address and not the airport's. Do that, and you are on the highway before anyone who landed at the main terminal has found the baggage carousel.

The short checklist

• GPS the FBO by name, not the airport
• Arrive 15 to 30 minutes before departure
• Government ID for everyone on the manifest
• Tell the operator ahead of time about pets, skis, golf clubs, oversized bags
• Book ground transport to the destination FBO's address