How it works
From a sentence to a flight. Priced on what it really costs.
You tell us where, when and with whom. Behind that sentence works an operational engine that computes the real route, the wind on the day, the performance of the exact aircraft, the fuel, the fees of every airport involved and the positioning of the nearest available aircraft. This page is the whole method, step by step.
The old way
Private aviation still runs on email and phone calls.
A request goes to a broker, the broker phones operators, replies arrive over hours or days, and a spreadsheet is assembled by hand. By the time the number reaches you the availability behind it has changed. Slow was never accurate. It was stale.
0%
Of business jet flights in Europe are flown empty
0 h
Typical wait for a broker quote by email
0+
Aircraft reachable through vetted operators
0 min
From your sentence to indicative options with Atlas
The request
Ask the way you would ask a person.
"Milan to London on Friday, twelve passengers, catering and a chauffeur on arrival." That sentence already contains a route, a date, a headcount, a cabin size and two ground services. We read it, structure it and price it. If something is missing, the flight desk asks one question, not ten.
What we read from one sentence
- Route
- LIML → EGLF
- Date
- Friday, next
- Passengers
- 12
- Category
- Heavy jet or larger
- On board
- Catering
- On the ground
- Chauffeur, arrival
The engine
Seven computations, in order, every time.
None of them is optional and none of them is an estimate we could skip. Together they are the difference between a number and a price.
01
Route
Airways, not straight lines
We compute the airway distance the aircraft is actually cleared to fly, around restricted areas, terrain and congested sectors. Milan to London is 585 nautical miles as the crow flies and about 620 on the airways. On a light jet that is eight or nine minutes of block time.
- Great circle
- 585 nm
- Airway
- ≈ 620 nm
- Difference
- + 8 to 9 min
02
Weather and wind
Season, jet stream, the Alps
Head and tail winds change block time by up to twenty minutes on a European leg. We apply seasonal wind models for the route and the date, plus the day's forecast once you are inside 72 hours. The same leg westbound in February is not the same leg eastbound in July.
- Westbound, winter
- up to + 20 min
- Eastbound, summer
- up to − 15 min
- Forecast applied
- inside 72 h
03
Aircraft
Performance of the exact type
More than five hundred aircraft types with their real cruise speed, climb profile, range and fuel curve. A Citation XLS+ and a Challenger 350 do not fly the same route in the same time nor burn the same fuel. A price without an aircraft type is not a price.
- Types modelled
- 500+
- Cruise, light jet
- ≈ 400 kt
- Cruise, ultra long range
- ≈ 480 kt
04
Fuel
Burn, reserves, price at the pump
Trip fuel is computed from the type's curve at the planned weight, plus alternate and holding reserves required by regulation. Fuel is then priced at the departure airport's current rate, which varies more than most people expect between neighbouring airports.
- Share of direct cost
- 30 to 40%
- Reserves
- alternate + 30 min hold
- Price variance, same city
- up to 25%
05
Airports
Fees, handling, slots, taxes
Landing and take off fees are billed on the aircraft's weight. Parking by the hour or night. Handling by category. Passenger taxes by country. Slot coordination where required. We hold the fee schedule of every airport on the route and apply it line by line.
- Fee range, Europe
- €400 to €4,000
- Billing basis
- MTOW
- Airports in the schedule
- 2,000+
06
Positioning
The empty half of a one way
The aircraft must reach you and go home. We search the fleet for the aircraft that is genuinely closest at that hour, not the one on paper, and price the positioning legs honestly. It is why a round trip costs little more than a one way, and why an empty leg can cost a fraction.
- Positioning share
- 25 to 45%
- Flights flown empty, Europe
- ≈ 35%
- Round trip vs one way
- often + 20 to 30%
07
Operators
Vetted, audited, insured
Only operators holding a valid air operator certificate, with third party safety audits and insurance above our minimums, are in the pool. Crew hours, maintenance status and the specific tail number are checked before we confirm, not after.
- Aircraft in the pool
- 10,000+
- Safety audit
- third party, current
- Confirmation
- tail number named
A worked example
Milan Linate to London Farnborough, one way, six passengers.
Indicative, computed on a September weekday. Every line below is a real input in our engine; the price is a range because availability and positioning are confirmed on the actual day.
| Category | Type, e.g. | Airway | Block time | Trip fuel | Airport lines | Positioning | Indicative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light jet | Citation CJ3+ | 620 nm | 1h 45m | ≈ 700 kg | €1,900 | 35% | €8,500 to €11,300 |
| Midsize | Citation XLS+ | 620 nm | 1h 40m | ≈ 950 kg | €2,200 | 30% | €11,000 to €14,000 |
| Super midsize | Challenger 350 | 620 nm | 1h 35m | ≈ 1,200 kg | €2,600 | 30% | €14,000 to €18,000 |
| Heavy | Falcon 900 | 620 nm | 1h 35m | ≈ 1,700 kg | €3,400 | 25% | €19,000 to €25,000 |
Airport lines include landing, handling, parking for two hours and UK passenger tax. Positioning is the share of billable time flown empty for the nearest available aircraft.
Four minutes
What happens between your sentence and your options.
Then a person takes over. The flight desk confirms the exact aircraft with the operator, names the tail number and locks the price, usually within the hour.
- 0:00You describe the flight, in your words or in the form.
- 0:10Route, wind and season computed for the airport pair and date.
- 0:40Block time and fuel for every suitable category and type.
- 1:30Airport lines applied for both ends, plus overflight charges.
- 2:30Fleet searched for real availability and nearest positioning.
- 4:00Indicative options on screen: block time, aircraft, price range.
- < 60 minThe flight desk confirms the exact aircraft, tail number and final price.
The standard
What we will not do.
No price without an aircraft
A category and an example type are named on every option. A number alone is a placeholder, and we do not send placeholders.
No hidden lines
Positioning, airport fees, taxes and handling are shown as lines. If a line is not there, it is because it does not exist.
No unvetted operator
A valid air operator certificate, a current third party safety audit and insurance above our minimums, or the aircraft is not in the pool.
The request
Try it on your next flight.
Real routing
Airway distance, wind on the day and fuel for the exact aircraft type. Not a straight line and an average.
Market price, live
A range built from thousands of recent quotes for your route and category, airport charges included.
Real availability
Aircraft genuinely available for your mission, from vetted operators, with types and operators shown.
A person confirms
The flight desk names the aircraft, the tail number and the final price within the hour.
Charter request
Options are priced on real routing, wind, fuel and airport fees, and confirmed by our team within the hour.