Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). While the airlines specialize in selling transportation by the seat, air charter companies focus on individual private aircraft and itineraries, urgent or time-sensitive cargo, air ambulance and any other form of ad hoc air transportation.^{[citation needed]}

Erik Lindbergh (born 1965) is an aviator, a promoter of space tourism, and an artist. Grandson of pioneering aviator Charles Lindbergh, who was the first person to fly non-stop between New York and Paris in 1927, in 2002 Erik honored the 75th anniversary of his grandfather's historic flight by retracing the journey in his own single-engine aircraft. The journey was documented by the History Channel, raised over one million dollars for three charities, garnered half a billion media impressions for the X PRIZE Foundation and prompted a call from United States President George W. Bush for inspiring the country after the tragedy of September 11.

In May 2002, Eric Lindbergh honored the 75th anniversary of his grandfather's historic flight, by re-tracing the flight across the Atlantic in a small single engine aircraft, a Lancair Columbia 300 dubbed The New Spirit of St. Louis which cost USD $289,000. Leaving from San Diego, he flew to St Louis, then Farmingdale, New York, and then the most famous portion, the non-stop flight from Republic Airport on Long Island to Le Bourget Airport in Paris on May 2, 2002. The last portion of the flight was completed in 17 hours and 7 minutes, roughly half the time as the original (33 1/2 hours), but still a challenge as Erik suffers from disabling rheumatoid arthritis and has two artificial knees. The "Mission Control" for the flight was located at the Saint Louis Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri, which as of 2011 maintains multiple exhibits about the flight.