Meaning & use
charter plane
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
An aircraft that a group or company hires for its own use rather than one flying a regular public timetable.
Grammar: Countable: say 'a charter plane' or 'charter planes'; it takes no article when you mean the service in general ('by charter plane').
Patterns
- hire a charter plane
- fly on a charter plane
- a charter plane to somewhere
The tour company hired a charter plane to take everyone to the island.
We flew on a charter plane because there were no scheduled flights that day.
Their bags were loaded onto the charter plane an hour before departure.
noununcountable
The type of air travel in which the whole aircraft is booked in advance, usually by one organization.
Grammar: Uncountable when it names the arrangement itself: 'travel by charter plane' rather than 'a charter plane'.
Patterns
- travel by charter plane
- go by charter plane
Flying by charter plane worked out cheaper for the whole team.
Sports clubs often travel by charter plane to save time.
Word forms
| plural | charter planes |
|---|
Common combinations
- hire a charter plane
- They hired a charter plane for the wedding party.
- a private charter plane
- A private charter plane was waiting on the runway.
- charter plane flight
- Our charter plane flight leaves at six in the morning.
- book a charter plane
- The school booked a charter plane for the trip to Rome.
- charter plane service
- The island depends on a small charter plane service.
Synonyms and how they differ
- charter flight
- This refers to the journey rather than the aircraft itself, so you book a charter flight but board a charter plane.
- private jet
- A private jet is normally a smaller aircraft owned or hired by one person or firm, while a charter plane can be much larger and carry a group.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: charter plane or charter?
charter plane vs charter
'Charter' alone can mean the hire arrangement or an official document; 'charter plane' names the actual aircraft.
Practice
The orchestra traveled to Vienna ___ charter plane.
Choose one answer.
'By charter plane' is the fixed way to name a means of travel, like 'by bus' or 'by train'. 'On' would need an article, as in 'on a charter plane'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “charter plane”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.