A King Air 90, the aircraft type flown on this mission.
The short version
At about 12:30 a.m. Eastern on Friday, November 13, a traveler was at the airline terminal in Charlotte with a cancelled flight. He found OnFly Air through ChatGPT. Two people had to be on the ground in Miami before 7:00 a.m. for an 8:00 a.m. appointment that could not be missed.
He called. He had a hard quote at 12:56 a.m.: a King Air 90, $15,650. He paid and signed at 1:16 a.m. The aircraft was in position in Charlotte at 2:30 a.m., 1 hour 14 minutes later. We had quoted 1 hour 30. Wheels up at 2:57 a.m. Wheels down in Miami at 5:47 a.m., one hour and thirteen minutes ahead of the deadline.
He made the appointment.
Ten hours after he landed, the FAA stopped every departure in the country.
The mission record
| Problem | Airline flight cancelled. Two travelers at the terminal in Charlotte after midnight. Appointment in Miami at 8:00 a.m. |
| Route | Charlotte (CLT) to Miami (MIA) |
| Deadline | On the ground in Miami before 7:00 a.m. |
| Travelers | 2, with luggage |
| First call | About 12:30 a.m. |
| Quote delivered | 12:56 a.m. — $15,650 |
| Aircraft | King Air 90 twin turboprop, flown by a vetted FAA Part 135 carrier |
| Go-ahead | 1:16 a.m. — payment received, charter agreement signed |
| Aircraft in position for pickup | 2:30 a.m. — 1 hour 14 minutes after go-ahead. Quoted 1 hour 30. |
| Wheels up, Charlotte | 2:57 a.m. — 2 hours 27 minutes after the first call |
| Wheels down, Miami | 5:47 a.m. — 2 hours 50 minutes en route. We quoted 3 hours 5 minutes against headwinds. |
| Outcome | 1 hour 13 minutes ahead of the deadline. Appointment made. |
All times Eastern.
How the night ran
12:30 a.m. The call comes in. The airline flight is cancelled. Two travelers, Charlotte to Miami, on the ground before 7:00.
12:38 a.m. First read back to the traveler, before there is a price: a crew can be in Charlotte in about two hours, and the flight is about two and a half.
12:56 a.m. The hard quote. $15,650. Aircraft in Charlotte 90 minutes from payment. Three hours five minutes en route with the headwinds. We also offered Fort Lauderdale and the other South Florida airports, in case one sat closer to the appointment than Miami International.
1:11 a.m. Invoice and charter agreement sent.
1:16 a.m. Paid by card. Agreement signed. That is the go-ahead.
While the crew positioned. The traveler still had bags to collect at the airline terminal. The desk arranged the ride from there to the private terminal, and sent the pickup point, the captain’s first name, the aircraft registration and a live tracking link.
2:03 a.m. The King Air is airborne.
2:30 a.m. On the ramp in Charlotte, in position for pickup. One hour fourteen minutes from go-ahead. Before departure the desk sends a second tracking link and the address of the private terminal in Miami, for whoever is meeting them.
2:57 a.m. Wheels up for Miami.
5:47 a.m. Wheels down.
The text we got later that day: “Thanks to you, we managed to arrive on time.”
What happened that afternoon
At about 4:00 p.m. Eastern the same day, the FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop after a communications failure affecting its air traffic control centers. It lasted more than four hours. Thousands of flights were cancelled, and airlines said cancellations would run into the weekend.
Be clear about what a charter does and does not do in that situation. A nationwide ground stop covers every aircraft. Charter aircraft sat on the ramp Friday afternoon like everyone else. Nobody flies around the FAA.
Most disruptions are not that. They are one airline’s system outage, one hub’s weather, one airport’s ground stop. A charter is not tied to an airline’s schedule or to one airport, so a nearby field often works. We have flown that one before.
After a nationwide stop, the difference shows up when it lifts. An airline has to put thousands of crews and aircraft back where the schedule needs them. That can take days, and your rebooking waits in that line. A chartered aircraft has one trip to fly. Yours. When the airspace opens, it goes.
When a charter makes sense, and when it doesn’t
It makes sense when being late costs more than the aircraft. A closing. A surgery. A court date. A funeral. A meeting that will not move.
It is priced by the aircraft, not the seat. Most domestic recovery charters run $8,000–$30,000. Four people on one aircraft split it four ways.
It does not make sense if tomorrow is fine. If a scheduled flight, a different airport or a rental car gets you there in time, we will tell you that. Asking is free.
It is fast, not instant. Across 450+ missions since June 2024, the average from first call to wheels-up is under 2.5 hours. This one was 2 hours 27 minutes.
Questions people ask at midnight
How fast can a charter leave after my flight is cancelled?
It depends on where the nearest suitable aircraft and crew are sitting. Our average from first call to wheels-up is under 2.5 hours. Hard quotes come back in 15 to 30 minutes, at any hour.
What does it cost?
Most domestic recovery charters run $8,000–$30,000 for the whole aircraft. This Charlotte-to-Miami trip was $15,650 for two travelers on a King Air 90. Your quote is exact before you commit.
Can a private charter fly during an FAA ground stop?
Not during a nationwide stop like Friday’s. That applies to charter aircraft too. When the stop is at one airport, a nearby airport often works. Either way, a charter helps most in the hours and days after, while airline schedules are still recovering.
Is OnFly Air an airline?
No. OnFly Air is an air charter broker. We do not own or operate aircraft. Every flight is flown by a vetted FAA Part 135 air carrier, and you are told which carrier before you accept.
If you are stuck right now
Call (858) 529-7860. A live dispatcher answers 24/7/365. Tell us where you are, where you need to be, and by when.
OnFly Air LLC is an air charter broker and time-critical logistics coordinator, not a direct air carrier. Flights are operated by FAA-certificated Part 135 air carriers that maintain operational control.
All prices shown are historical mission data only. Actual pricing varies — often significantly — with the aircraft the trip requires, aircraft and crew availability, hazmat requirements, repositioning time and aircraft location, departure and arrival airport fees, fuel prices, weather, time of day, ATC routing, and other operational factors. Your quote is exact and itemized before you commit.
Ground stop details: FAA statement and same-day reporting, November 13, 2026 (CNBC, Axios).