Jet Charter Costa Rica arranges flights for government officials and delegations traveling to Costa Rica, usually to San José for meetings, conferences and trade missions. These trips run to dates set by someone else, and the group often needs to arrive together.
The trips we arrange
- Officials and delegations visiting San José for meetings and conferences.
- Trade missions bringing government and business representatives to the Central Valley.
- Staff of international organizations flying in for meetings in Costa Rica.
Arriving in San José
Delegations usually land at Juan Santamaría International (SJO), which is in Alajuela, about 10 miles west of downtown San José. The airport is open around the clock, which helps when the meeting schedule is fixed and the flight has to fit around it. Every passenger needs a valid passport, and your advisor will tell you what else each person needs.
Paperwork and permits
Official travel tends to come with its own paperwork. Tell us at the start what your finance or travel office needs, and we will work to provide the booking details in that form, including the operator’s name on the itinerary. Landing permits and authorizations are generally applied for after a trip has been secured on the aircraft schedule. Departure and arrival times can depend on approvals from the airport authorities and the government, and your advisor will keep you informed while those are pending.
Matching the aircraft to the delegation
Tell us the headcount and the baggage early, since together they decide which aircraft are available. A small delegation usually fits a light or midsize jet, while a larger group moves up to a heavy jet, and your advisor will explain the options beyond that. You can read how we choose the operators we work with on our safety page.
Vetting Behind Every Trip
Every operator, aircraft, and crew goes through our internal due diligence before we present any options. Our internal standards meet or exceed what the FAA requires:
- FAR Part 135 charter operators for traditional private aircraft, or FAR Part 121 for airliner-size and group trips (or the foreign equivalent on international legs)
- Operator subscription to Wyvern and ARGUS reviewed where the operator participates.
- Pilot experience and operator incident history reviewed before we recommend an aircraft.
- Fewer than 60 brokers worldwide hold Premium Wyvern Broker Member status, and Air Charter Advisors is one of them.
Costa Rica-Specific Patterns We Plan Around
A private flight from abroad lands first at one of Costa Rica’s international airports, most often Juan Santamaría International near San José or Guanacaste Airport in Liberia, which is the closer of the two to the Guanacaste beaches and is not open overnight. The flight on to a smaller beach or rainforest airstrip, such as Tamarindo, Nosara or Quepos, is a separate leg in a smaller aircraft, usually flown by a Costa Rican operator, and your advisor will tell you how that leg works for your trip. The busy season runs from Thanksgiving to April, when ramp space for private aircraft is limited, and the holidays, spring break and Semana Santa book up first. The dry season on the Pacific side runs from late November to April, and from May to November afternoon rain is common.
Contact
For a quote on a charter to or from Costa Rica, send the trip through our contact page or call an advisor at 1-888-987-5387. Our safety page sets out how we review operators and crews, and the aircraft gallery covers every category we arrange. We are also a member of the National Business Aviation Association.