Broker, operator, fractional — who actually owns the risk.

A broker arranges or sells transportation. A direct air carrier operates the flight. A fractional program manages a shared-ownership structure. The difference isn't semantic — it decides who holds authority, who makes operational decisions, and which contracts actually need to be reviewed.

Under 14 CFR Part 295, an air charter broker can act as an indirect air carrier, a foreign indirect air carrier, or a bona fide agent. Disclosure obligations depend on which capacity the broker is acting in, and a broker has to avoid creating the impression that it's the direct air carrier when it isn't.

NBAA's guidance recommends that a broker make clear from the start whether it represents the client, the direct air carrier, or is acting as an indirect air carrier itself. Each position creates a different structure and a different risk profile, so the relationship should be documented in agreements with both the client and the operator.

Direct air carrier

The direct air carrier is the entity performing the air transportation under its own operational authority. On a U.S. Part 135 charter, the buyer should be able to identify the carrier's legal name, its active certificate, the authorized aircraft, and who holds operational control.

The carrier answers for operational execution within its framework: dispatch or release, crew, airworthiness, safety decisions, and compliance with its OpSpecs. That doesn't mean the carrier is the only party with legal exposure — contract terms, negligence, advertising, provider selection, and jurisdiction can all pull other entities in.

Broker

A broker can carry its own duties around disclosure, advertising, contracting, and diligence. DOT requires certain disclosures before the contract is signed, and prohibits misleading representations about the operator's identity, the aircraft, the crew, rates, or audits.

Not holding a Part 135 certificate doesn't automatically make a broker illegal. The real question is whether it's acting as an authorized agent, as a principal with economic authority, or in some other permitted capacity. DOT has warned that a broker without economic authority can't act as a principal — contracting transportation from the carrier and reselling it under a separate contract with the client.

Fractional

A genuine fractional program isn't just a jet card or a charter package under a different name. Part 91 Subpart K requires, among other things, a single program manager, two or more airworthy aircraft, minimum ownership shares, dry-lease exchange agreements, and multi-year contracts. The program runs under Management Specifications, not a Part 135 air carrier certificate.

In a fractional program, the owner holds operational control when directing the transportation of people or property the owner designates. The owner carries ultimate responsibility, even while delegating tasks to the program manager — in that delegation, owner and manager share compliance duties under the applicable rules.

The right question isn't "who owns the risk" in the singular. It's which risk — operational, contractual, regulatory, financial, or insurance — is actually being examined. A broker may never touch the aircraft and still carry exposure for a false representation. A fractional owner can keep responsibility even after delegating tasks to the manager.