Return Policy

Return & Refund Policy

Last Updated: July 12, 2026

This Return & Refund Policy applies to every purchase made from Essence Flight School LLC — including introductory flight lessons and Discovery Flights, flight training, aircraft rental, simulator time, instructional packages, block hours, and gift certificates.

The Short Version

• All sales are final. We do not issue refunds.
• But your purchase is yours to give away. You may transfer it to another person, free of charge, with at least 48 hours’ written notice.
• Nothing you buy from us expires. Gift certificates and unused prepaid credit never expire.
• If we cancel for weather or maintenance, you reschedule at no cost.

We tell you this before you pay, not after. Please read the rest.

1. All Sales Are Final

All payments made to Essence Flight School LLC are non-refundable, except where a refund is required by law. This includes flight lessons, Discovery Flights, training packages, block hours, simulator time, aircraft rental, deposits, and gift certificates.

This is not arbitrary. When you book, we take an aircraft and a certificated flight instructor out of service and hold them for you. We schedule fuel, maintenance and staff around your reservation. That capacity cannot be resold once it is committed to you, whether or not you use it.

You acknowledge and accept this policy at the time of purchase, before any charge is made.

2. Your Purchase Is Transferable — Free

Because we do not refund, we make it easy to hand your purchase to someone else instead.

• You may transfer any purchase to another person at no charge, provided you notify us in writing at least 48 hours before the scheduled flight or lesson.
• Email info@essenceflight.com with your booking details and the name, email and phone number of the person receiving it.
• The person receiving the transfer must meet every eligibility requirement — including age, identification and the weight limits in Section 6 — and must sign our liability release before flying.
• There is no limit on how many times a purchase may be transferred, so long as each transfer is requested at least 48 hours in advance.

Requests made less than 48 hours before the scheduled time are treated as a late cancellation under Section 4 and may be forfeited.

3. Rescheduling

You may reschedule at no charge with at least 48 hours written notice. A $50 rebooking fee applies to any reschedule requested inside 48 hours, at our discretion.

4. Cancellations, Late Arrival And No-Shows

• Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours in advance. Cancellations inside 24 hours may be charged a late cancellation fee of up to 50% of the scheduled lesson.
• No-shows are charged in full. If you do not arrive, the lesson is marked complete and the full amount is forfeited.
• Arriving more than 30 minutes late is treated as a no-show and is charged in full, because the aircraft and instructor cannot be held past that point without disrupting the students behind you.

5. When We Cancel

If we cancel because of weather, aircraft maintenance, instructor unavailability, airspace restrictions, or any other safety consideration:

• We will contact you as soon as we can and reschedule you at no additional cost.
• Your purchase remains fully valid and never expires.
• No refund is issued. Safety cancellations are not a failure to deliver — they are us delivering the service responsibly.

Your pilot in command has final authority over whether a flight is safe to conduct. That decision is not negotiable and is not a basis for a refund.

6. Weight, Eligibility And Documentation

Every flight is subject to strict Federal Aviation Administration weight-and-balance limits. These limits are published before you pay, and you confirm them when you book. They are a matter of aircraft safety and are not waivable by us or by you.

Weight may be verified on arrival. If you arrive and exceed the published weight limit for the flight you booked, the flight cannot be flown, the booking is treated as a cancellation inside 24 hours, and the full amount is charged and forfeited.

We will always try to move you onto a suitable aircraft where one is available, and you may pay the difference in price. But we cannot fly an aircraft outside its certificated limits, and a booking made outside the published limits is not something we can refund.

The same applies if you cannot produce valid identification, if a participant is under 5 years of age, if a participant under 18 arrives without a parent or legal guardian, or if you decline to sign the liability release.

7. Right To Refuse Service

We may refuse to fly any person for any lawful reason, including intoxication, impairment, unsafe or abusive behavior, or a determination by the pilot in command that the person is unfit to fly. In those cases the person will not board and the flight is charged in full.

8. Gift Certificates

• Gift certificates are non-refundable and are not redeemable for cash, except where California law requires cash redemption of a small remaining balance.
• Gift certificates do not expire. Consistent with California Civil Code § 1749.5, we do not place an expiration date on gift certificates sold to the public and we do not charge service or dormancy fees.
• Gift certificates are freely transferable.
• We are not responsible for lost or stolen certificates and cannot replace them.
• If you bought through a third-party reseller, refunds are governed by that reseller’s policy — please contact them directly.

9. Training Packages And Prepaid Credit

• Training packages, block hours and simulator packages are non-refundable once purchased.
• Unused prepaid credit does not expire and remains available to you.
• Prepaid credit may be transferred to another student, free of charge, on written request.

10. Medical Disqualification

If you become medically unable to continue training and provide valid documentation from a licensed physician or an FAA Aviation Medical Examiner, your remaining balance may be credited toward future training or transferred to another student. Refunds in this situation are considered case by case and are not guaranteed.

11. Termination Without Refund

We may end your training immediately and without refund for: repeated unsafe behavior; violation of FAA or airport regulations; harassment, abuse or threats toward staff or students; fraudulent enrollment information; or misuse of an aircraft, simulator or equipment.

12. Chargebacks And Payment Disputes

Please read this section carefully. By completing a purchase, you agree to the following:

1. You have read and accepted this policy before paying. The non-refundable nature of your purchase is disclosed to you, and affirmatively accepted by you, before any charge is made. We record the date, time and IP address of that acceptance.
2. You agree to contact us first. If you have any concern about a charge, you will contact us at info@essenceflight.com or (818) 960-1285 and give us fifteen (15) days to resolve it before initiating any dispute with your bank or card issuer. Most disputes are simple misunderstandings and we would genuinely rather fix them than fight them.
3. A chargeback that contradicts this policy is a breach of this agreement. Initiating a chargeback for a charge you authorized, and for services offered in accordance with these terms, is a breach of contract — not a billing error.
4. We keep the evidence. For every booking we retain your timestamped acceptance of these terms, the IP address used, the booking and payment record, all communications, the signed liability release, and attendance records. We submit this evidence in full in response to any dispute.
5. You are responsible for our costs. If you file a chargeback in breach of this agreement and it is resolved in our favor, you agree to reimburse us for the disputed amount plus all bank and processor fees, collection costs, and reasonable attorneys’ fees permitted by law.
6. Consequences. While a disputed balance is outstanding, we may suspend your training, decline further bookings, refer the balance to collections, and pursue any remedy available to us at law.

Nothing in this section asks you to give up any right you hold under law, and nothing in it prevents you from contacting your card issuer. It sets out what we have agreed, what we will show, and what follows from a dispute brought in breach of that agreement.

13. Talk To Us First

If something has gone wrong, tell us. We answer the phone, and a real person will get back to you.

Essence Flight School LLC
Email: info@essenceflight.com
Phone: (818) 960-1285
7900 Balboa Blvd, Unit D3, Van Nuys, CA 91406

This policy is part of, and should be read with, our Terms of Service and our Discovery Flight Terms & Conditions.