Jet Cards

How a Jet Card Fuel Surcharge Is Calculated in 2026

Most programs do not publish the formula behind the line item

A jet card fuel surcharge is a variable fee billed on top of the hourly rate whenever fuel costs rise above a baseline set in your contract. The surcharge grows with the aircraft’s fuel burn per hour, and full-service Jet A averaged $8.36 a gallon nationally in September 2026, up 32.7% since January, according to AVweb.

Most programs do not publish the surcharge formula. That leaves four numbers to get in writing before you sign: the baseline, the index, how often it resets, and whether there is a cap.

How a Fuel Surcharge Works

A jet cardA prepaid block of flight hours on a set aircraft category, bought at a fixed or capped hourly rate. No aircraft ownership is involved. fuel surcharge is an extra charge per flight hour that switches on when a fuel index rises above a baseline price fixed in the contract. The contract sets both numbers: the baseline price and the index used to measure fuel against it. The surcharge then scales with how many gallons your aircraft burns per hour, so a larger cabin pays more for the same move in fuel prices.

Most programs do not publish the formula. Sentient Jet’s published rate card excludes the fuel surcharge, and the surcharge itself is not published.

Two published descriptions of the common structure disagree on where the baseline sits. Air Charter Advisors, a charter broker, says surcharges on fixed jet cards activate when fixed-base operator (FBO) baseline costs pass an index threshold, “commonly $5.00 to $6.00 per gallon.” The program terms covered in our OneFlight review describe an indexed baseline commonly set at $2.00 to $3.00 per gallon, with an uncapped per-hour surcharge based on published fuel consumption averages for each aircraft category.

Those two ranges sit about $3.00 a gallon apart. Read the baseline in your own contract before you estimate anything. Air Charter Advisors also states that fuel typically makes up 25% to 40% of an aircraft’s direct operating cost.

What Jet A Costs in September 2026

Full-service Jet A averaged $8.36 a gallon across the U.S. in September 2026, its highest level in six months. AVweb’s figures come from retail prices reported by 3,370 FBOs and fuel service providers.

Jet A rose in July, August and September after easing in June.

Set September’s $8.36 against the baselines above and the gap is wide. It sits $2.36 to $3.36 above the $5.00 to $6.00 threshold, and $5.36 to $6.36 above a $2.00 to $3.00 baseline. Whether your surcharge tracks the national average or a different index is a contract question, covered in the clause section below.

What a Fuel Surcharge Adds per Hour by Cabin Size

In Air Charter Advisors’ illustration, the added cost per hour is the aircraft’s fuel burn per hour multiplied by the price change per gallon. Air Charter Advisors published the example below, which it labels “example only,” using a $1.50 per gallon rise and average burn rates.

Spread across a 25-hour block, the light-jet row adds $6,550 to $7,500 ($262 to $300 times 25). The heavy row adds $15,000 to $18,750 over the same 25 hours.

The $1.50 move is Air Charter Advisors’ illustration and does not forecast anything. Apply the same method to September’s numbers. If your contract’s threshold were $6.00 and it tracked the national average, the gap would be $2.36 a gallon. A light jet burning 175 gallons an hour would then carry about $413 an hour in surcharge (175 times $2.36). Run your own figures by putting your cabin’s burn rate and your contract’s baseline into that multiplication.

Why One Airport Pair Can Price Differently

Fuel at FBOFixed Base Operator — the private terminal you depart from, separate from the commercial airport building. Handles fuel, ground transport, crew and passenger services.s can differ by $1.50 to $3.00 a gallon at the same airport or between nearby airports, according to Air Charter Advisors, which cites Teterboro and Morristown as an example pair. On October 8, 2026, the broker cited an FBO at Philadelphia charging $10.90 a gallon, while Wilmington (KILG) was as low as $8.65.

The two cited prices are $2.25 a gallon apart. A light jet burning 175 gallons an hour uses 525 gallons on a 3-hour trip. At $2.25 a gallon apart, that is about $1,181 between the two fields (525 times $2.25).

The broker also reports that prices run from under $7.00 a gallon at regional airports to over $10.00 at major metro hubs. Its figures put the Eastern U.S. nearly $0.75 a gallon above the Great Lakes, which matches AVweb’s $8.69 against $7.94. Air Charter Advisors says fixed-rate jet card contracts “often contain fuel surcharge clauses tied to monthly national fuel benchmarks,” while an on-demand charter quote reflects real-time pricing at booking.

What a Jet Card Fuel Clause Has to Say

A jet card fuel clause should state four terms in writing: the baseline, the index, the reset schedule and any cap.

• Baseline. The fuel price per gallon above which the surcharge starts. Published descriptions range from $2.00 to $3.00 up to $5.00 to $6.00, so the figure in your contract decides how much of today’s price you pay for.
• Index. The fuel price series the baseline is measured against. Air Charter Advisors says fixed-rate jet card contracts often tie fuel clauses to monthly national fuel benchmarks.
• Reset frequency. How often the surcharge is recalculated. A monthly reset means the per-hour charge can change during your contract.
• Cap. A ceiling on the surcharge per hour. The structure described in our OneFlight review is uncapped, so ask directly whether yours has one.

Ask the provider these questions before you sign:

1. What baseline price per gallon starts the surcharge?
2. Which index is it measured against, and is it national or local?
3. How often does the surcharge reset?
4. Is there a cap per hour, and what is it?
5. Which fuel burn figure applies to my cabin size?
6. Is the surcharge billed on every flight hour, including daily-minimum time?

Our compare jet cards guide puts the same three questions (which index, how often it resets, whether there is a cap) alongside the difference between guaranteed and floating rates.

Where the Jet Card Fuel Surcharge Appears in an All-In Quote

Published jet card prices handle fuel in different ways, so two headline figures can measure different things. Sentient Jet’s published rate card excludes both the fuel surcharge and the 7.5% Federal Excise TaxA 7.5% US tax on domestic air transportation, charged on top of the quoted charter price. Uninterrupted international flights pay a per-person facilities tax instead. (FET). The NetJets Card’s $215,000 entry price is described as covering standard fees.

Before ranking them, add the surcharge and tax to the base-rate figure. Then confirm in writing what the inclusive figure covers. See our jet card pricing breakdown.

Ask for the surcharge as a separate line on a written quote for two of your real trips. That turns an unpublished formula into a dollar figure you can compare across programs.

Why Card Rates Fell in Q3 2026 Despite Fuel

Published jet card rates fell in the third quarter (Q3) of 2026 even though fuel prices rose. The Private Jet Card Comparisons Q3 2026 index puts the entry-level rate for cards under 50 hours at $10,958 an hour, down 3.1% from Q2 2026.

That hourly figure includes the base rate, fuel surcharges and the 7.5% FET. So the drop happened with surcharges already counted, during the same three months that Jet A rose each month. The index uses published rates and does not account for jet card deals.

The same index shows daily minimums up 2.2% to 95.0 minutes. The index average is 95.0 minutes, and your own card’s minimum is in your contract. A falling market average tells you little about your own clause, so price your trips against your contract’s terms.

Ways to Limit Jet Card Fuel Surcharge Exposure

You can limit what fuel adds to your bill in five ways.

• Ask for a cap. A ceiling per hour turns an open-ended charge into a known maximum.
• Compare an on-demand quote for short trips. Air Charter Advisors says it can price-protect charter for most aircraft up to ultra-long-range jets. It notes that larger VIP airliner-size aircraft carry a fuel base at the time of quoting that can change.
• Compare FBOs at secondary airports. With $1.50 to $3.00 a gallon between nearby fields, the departure airport changes an on-demand fuel cost.
• Match the airframe to the mission. A light jet burns 175 to 200 gallons an hour in the broker’s example, against 400 to 500 for a heavy jet.
• Ask about tankering. The broker describes tankering as buying surplus fuel at a cheaper departure airport. It is limited by weight and balance and is not always available.

Who Should Not Lean on This Math

If you fly a few short trips a year, compare on-demand pricing as well as the card. Price one of those trips on demand and compare it with the card, using our jet card versus charter versus fractional breakdown. The per-hour figures above also do not apply to a card with an inclusive price until you have confirmed in writing whether fuel is included.

Three things would change the numbers on this page. If Jet A fell below your contract’s baseline, a threshold-style surcharge would stop applying. A further rise would push it higher, uncapped if your clause has no ceiling. A program that published its formula would let you compare surcharges without requesting quotes.

Before you sign, send the provider the six questions above and ask for the jet card fuel surcharge on two of your real trips in writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do all jet cards charge a fuel surcharge?

Not every published jet card price breaks out a fuel surcharge. Sentient Jet's published rate card excludes the fuel surcharge. The NetJets Card's $215,000 entry price is described as covering standard fees. For other programs, ask whether fuel is included and get the answer in writing.

How much is a fuel surcharge on a jet card?

In an illustration labelled "example only," Air Charter Advisors shows a $1.50 per gallon rise adding $262 to $300 an hour on a light jet and $600 to $750 an hour on a heavy jet. Your figure depends on your contract's baseline, index and your aircraft's fuel burn.

Can a provider raise the fuel surcharge mid-contract?

Yes, a surcharge tied to an index can change whenever that index resets. Air Charter Advisors says fixed-rate contracts often tie fuel clauses to monthly national fuel benchmarks, and the structure described in our OneFlight review is uncapped. Ask how often your surcharge resets and whether it has a cap before you sign.

Is the fuel surcharge taxed?

The Federal Excise Tax is 7.5% on domestic charter, and the Private Jet Card Comparisons Q3 2026 index counts base rate, fuel surcharge and the 7.5% tax together in its hourly figures. Whether a particular provider's quote adds the tax on top of the surcharge is not published, so look for it as a line item on your written quote.

What is a fuel index?

A fuel index is the published fuel price series a contract measures against its baseline to decide whether a surcharge applies. Air Charter Advisors says fixed-rate jet card contracts often use monthly national fuel benchmarks. The broker also reports spreads of $1.50 to $3.00 per gallon between nearby FBOs.

Does a fixed-rate jet card protect against fuel price rises?

A fixed hourly rate does not by itself protect you from fuel price rises. Air Charter Advisors says guaranteed fixed-rate jet card contracts often contain fuel surcharge clauses tied to monthly national benchmarks. Ask for a cap written into the fuel clause.

We update this guide as aircraft, program, and route pricing changes. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll check it.