Desperately seeking info on how one charters a widebody plane in 2024...

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nickonline

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nickonline
Hi folks,

First, apologies if this is in the wrong forum; or, if such a question isn't permitted.

I'm currently working on a film production with quite a lot of money to spend, and am desperately seeking information on where someone might go to see about chartering a wide body plane for several days for on-the-ground filming.

In the past, I've never had trouble requisitioning a plane for filming. We typically go to the Boneyard in Mojave or Victorville if a nonworking option would be suitable. Or, we charter a narrow body, of which there is never a shortage, often filming at Van Nuys, Burbank, etc.

On my current project, the goal is to charter a wide body plane of any kind to an airport in the Inland Empire. The exterior is all that matters - we will never go inside the plane, so either a passenger or cargo plane would both work.

All I need is a single option with a rough ballpark attached. But I've found that while charter services talk a big game when you reach out ("Not a problem! We'll definitely have some options for you!"), after a few days, they come back with the same line: no wide-bodies available, but would a 757 work? (No, unfortunately...).

While the budget will eventually be a deciding factor, at the moment, it's open-ended, and I'm not used to a situation where I can't at least find a dollar amount for something, even if it's ludicrously expensive. I was told by someone that one reason wide bodies are hard to come by is that many private operations that owned them went out of business during COVID.

I'm wondering if anyone here might be able to speak to how one goes about this; or, can shed a bit of light on why it's so difficult.

Thank you! It has been a lot of fun getting into the world of aviation the past two weeks.
 
Try somebody like Paramount Business Jets
 
nickonline said:
Hi folks,

First, apologies if this is in the wrong forum; or, if such a question isn't permitted.

I'm currently working on a film production with quite a lot of money to spend, and am desperately seeking information on where someone might go to see about chartering a wide body plane for several days for on-the-ground filming.

In the past, I've never had trouble requisitioning a plane for filming. We typically go to the Boneyard in Mojave or Victorville if a nonworking option would be suitable. Or, we charter a narrow body, of which there is never a shortage, often filming at Van Nuys, Burbank, etc.

On my current project, the goal is to charter a wide body plane of any kind to an airport in the Inland Empire. The exterior is all that matters - we will never go inside the plane, so either a passenger or cargo plane would both work.

All I need is a single option with a rough ballpark attached. But I've found that while charter services talk a big game when you reach out ("Not a problem! We'll definitely have some options for you!"), after a few days, they come back with the same line: no wide-bodies available, but would a 757 work? (No, unfortunately...).

While the budget will eventually be a deciding factor, at the moment, it's open-ended, and I'm not used to a situation where I can't at least find a dollar amount for something, even if it's ludicrously expensive. I was told by someone that one reason wide bodies are hard to come by is that many private operations that owned them went out of business during COVID.

I'm wondering if anyone here might be able to speak to how one goes about this; or, can shed a bit of light on why it's so difficult.

Thank you! It has been a lot of fun getting into the world of aviation the past two weeks.
Click to expand...
Perhaps an airline? The link is United, but others probably do it as well.
Here's Kalitta:

Home - Highest Standards of Safety, Professionalism, and Service - Kalitta Charters

The Kalitta Charters family has been an industry leader for decades which is why you can expect the highest standards of safety, professionalism, and service.
www.kalittacharters.com www.kalittacharters.com
 
Delta will charter you a widebody and fly it wherever you like. A retiring CA recently chartered a A330 for a few days.
 
This guy flies freight on 747s. Maybe he would have some suggestions. There are links with contact information of his YouTube page.

www.youtube.com

74 Gear

74 Gear / Pilot Kelsey Boeing 747 Pilot All About Aviation Join the 74 Crew on Instagram / Twitter: @74Gear
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
If it's not firefighting season, maybe these guys? https://www.10tanker.com/

I don't get the widebody requirement, though. In a world where most people in theaters can't tell the difference between a mig-29 and an F-5, virtually nobody would know the difference between a 777 and 757.
 
Albany Tom said:
If it's not firefighting season, maybe these guys? https://www.10tanker.com/

I don't get the widebody requirement, though. In a world where most people in theaters can't tell the difference between a mig-29 and an F-5, virtually nobody would know the difference between a 777 and 757.
Click to expand...
Don't you mean a MiG-28 and an F-5? :D
 
Call Boeing. I'm not kidding. They'll know where you can find a 747. They know where every 747 is located.

Boeing Transportation, Warehousing & Logistics 24/7 Hotline
1-206-662-9410
TWLLogisticsSupport@boeing.com

Other options:
Air China, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Asiana Airlines, and Saudia
I remember watching Lufthansa fly in late afternoon into Denver. The size made it look like it was going so slow! They still do, by the way. Also into Los Angeles, Boston & Chicago.
Another resource

Login required | Planespotters.net

www.planespotters.net www.planespotters.net
 
nickonline said:
Hi folks,

First, apologies if this is in the wrong forum; or, if such a question isn't permitted.

I'm currently working on a film production with quite a lot of money to spend, and am desperately seeking information on where someone might go to see about chartering a wide body plane for several days for on-the-ground filming.

In the past, I've never had trouble requisitioning a plane for filming. We typically go to the Boneyard in Mojave or Victorville if a nonworking option would be suitable. Or, we charter a narrow body, of which there is never a shortage, often filming at Van Nuys, Burbank, etc.

On my current project, the goal is to charter a wide body plane of any kind to an airport in the Inland Empire. The exterior is all that matters - we will never go inside the plane, so either a passenger or cargo plane would both work.

All I need is a single option with a rough ballpark attached. But I've found that while charter services talk a big game when you reach out ("Not a problem! We'll definitely have some options for you!"), after a few days, they come back with the same line: no wide-bodies available, but would a 757 work? (No, unfortunately...).

While the budget will eventually be a deciding factor, at the moment, it's open-ended, and I'm not used to a situation where I can't at least find a dollar amount for something, even if it's ludicrously expensive. I was told by someone that one reason wide bodies are hard to come by is that many private operations that owned them went out of business during COVID.

I'm wondering if anyone here might be able to speak to how one goes about this; or, can shed a bit of light on why it's so difficult.

Thank you! It has been a lot of fun getting into the world of aviation the past two weeks.
Click to expand...

Kallita Air has fleet 777,747. Also, Air Charter Service. https://www.aircharterservice.com/ . My job is Freight Forwarding . I have chartered from both. It isnt going to be cheap.
 
Several days? It's going to cost you a ton of money, due to the fact someone will charge you the same as if you were flying it around, due to the airplane not being able to make any revenue.
 
Groundpounder said:
Several days? It's going to cost you a ton of money, due to the fact someone will charge you the same as if you were flying it around, due to the airplane not being able to make any revenue.
Click to expand...
We have a ton of money to spend, thankfully. But not tons and tons and tons of money. So hundreds of thousands - good. Millions? No.
 
Albany Tom said:
If it's not firefighting season, maybe these guys? https://www.10tanker.com/

I don't get the widebody requirement, though. In a world where most people in theaters can't tell the difference between a mig-29 and an F-5, virtually nobody would know the difference between a 777 and 757.
Click to expand...
Can you imagine the scorn this site alone would heap on him if he tried to pass off a 757 as a 777? Even when an aviation flick is 99% accurate,they still get called out by pilots, all of whom are smarter than everyone else.
 
Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, England had 3 747’s used for filming and training. I think one of the JamesBond films used it, but not sure if it still is in operation.
Try dunsfoldpark.com
 
nickonline said:
We have a ton of money to spend, thankfully. But not tons and tons and tons of money. So hundreds of thousands - good. Millions? No.
Click to expand...

If you want a widebody airplane to sit in one spot for that long, it will probably be in the millions. They are in high demand these days and they are going to want to make up for the lost revenue.
 
Dunsford was where Top Gear was filmed and in many shots you can see the 747. From the Wikipedia page for Dunsford:

On 22 October 2020, a second 747, Boeing 747-400 G-CIVW, joined G-BDXJ, to be situated at Dunsfold for use as a filming location and for specialist training. It previously belonged to British Airways and arrived at the aerodrome from Cardiff Airport.[19][20] On 5 December 2020, a third 747, G-BNLY, was moved from Cardiff to Dunsfold, for use as a filming location and trainer aircraft. This airframe is one of three Retrojet 747s previously used by BA, wearing the 1980's - 1997 Landor Associates livery, and has the name City of Swansea.

A Boeing 747-200 which served with British Airways until 2002 as City of Birmingham, G-BDXJ, was purchased by Aces High Limited, a company specialising in supplying aircraft for television and film work, and transferred to Dunsfold.
 
Groundpounder said:
If you want a widebody airplane to sit in one spot for that long, it will probably be in the millions. They are in high demand these days and they are going to want to make up for the lost revenue.
Click to expand...
You probably have more knowledge than me in this area, but I would think that although it's going to be expensive, it's not going to be AS expensive as if you chartered it to fly around for the same amount of time. After all, sitting there it's not burning fuel, and you're not having to the pay the crew (since they just go home), and it's not putting any cycles on the engines or other wear and tear items. It's almost pure profit for the charter company. So they could reasonably cut the rate and still increase their profits.

I mean, if you were going to rent your car (for a flat rate) to somebody for the day, you'd rather have them be parked most of the day than driving all around town. More profit for you.
 
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