When someone buys a private jet, they rarely want the full responsibility of maintenance, following FAA regulations, hiring flight crews, and keeping the airplane properly stored and cared for. Instead, a private jet owner wants to have a private jet ready for when they need to make a flight. Otherwise, it is ideally an “out of sight, out of mind” situation.

This is where private jet management companies come into play. Private aircraft management services will make sure that all of the above needs are taken care of.

That means maintaining the aircraft and keeping it in peak condition. With those needs taken care of, the private jet owner goes about their business – which generally has nothing to do with maintaining private aircraft.

How Does Private Jet Aircraft Management Relate to Private Jet Charter?

The owner of the private jet, except in rare circumstances, will not be using their private jet on a constant or daily basis. This will leave the private jet with a lot of downtime, time when it is merely sitting in the hangar.

During this time the flight crews will still need to be on standby and the plane will still need to be maintained. Ownership costs of the private jet do not pause just because it’s not in use.

So, private aircraft management companies will, with the owner’s permission, use the private jet for air charter. This will mean that the plane is not gathering dust. More importantly, it will mean that the jet is earning charter revenue.

The aircraft owners will allow flight operations to proceed with their private flight while they’re not using it. That offers an opportunity to earn a profit and ensure the plane will be properly maintained.

Of course, this is not the case with all private aircraft management. Some aircraft owners will choose to simply have the flight crew training with the aircraft, with aircraft maintenance taking place continually.

In these situations the plane will always be ready when the aircraft owners need it. However, it also means missing out on using a private jet to generate revenue and offset the costs of ownership.

It’s all about finding the option that works best for your individual needs. If you’re a very frequent flyer, keeping your aircraft ready and available may be more valuable for your business than allowing it to be used for charter services.

However, most private jet owners can benefit from allowing their planes to be used for charter flights. It’s a simple matter of taking an asset that would otherwise sit dormant, while still requiring maintenance and upkeep and turning it into a revenue generator. At the same time, the private aircraft management company will keep the jet skyworthy and in compliance with relevant regulations.

What Responsibilities Do the Aircraft Management Companies Take Care Of?

There is a lot to aircraft ownership. A world-class private aircraft management company will take care of all of the things that a private jet owner would need to take care of on their own. This involves:

  • Making sure that the airplane is in a hangar and properly stored and protected from the weather. This also means that the private aircraft management company will deal with the airport to make the business deals for the hangar. Those negotiations will not need to be led by the aircraft owner.
  • Ensuring the aircraft follows all FAA and ICAO regulations. This includes maintenance and log keeping, ensuring that the airplane will always be ready at a moment’s notice.
  • Scheduling charter services. Private aircraft management companies will be responsible for working with air charters to get the plane in the air when and where it is needed. As part of these charter services, the aircraft management company will keep the plane in pristine condition so that it is always up to the standards that are required by the air charter.
  • Providing accounting services for all of the airplane’s activities, maintenance, finances, and certifications.
  • Maintaining the insurance on the aircraft and negotiating the insurance contract.
  • Negotiating fuel, parts, and labor for the aircraft as part of regular maintenance and operations.
  • Handling the work with charter services, so that the aircraft owner does not have to be involved with the day-to-day operations of the aviation services of the private jet charter.
  • Completing all of the other tasks needed to make sure that the aircraft is always running in a safe, profitable, and reliable manner.

How Much Does It Cost to Manage a Private Jet?

When everything’s taken together, including airport costs like hangar fees and fuel, operating costs, flight crews, and regular maintenance, the cost of maintaining a private jet can range from $500,000 to $1,000,000 per year. Of course, that’s in addition to the purchase price of a private aircraft.

This elucidates the reasons why it can be so beneficial to aircraft owners to offer their private jets for charter services. It’s an opportunity to recoup some of those costs.

The money that can be earned by using your jet as a part-time charter can make up part of the annual operational costs of managing a private jet. The more frequently you make your jet available for charter, the more money it will make. Just remember that when it’s being used for a charter, you can’t use it yourself.

The actual figures of how much money you can earn by using your private jet for charter services through an aircraft management company can vary widely. It depends on the size of the plane, its amenities, its primary base of operations, and more. In general, your private jet would need to have more than forty hours of charter flight per month to break even on expenses.

For example, a midsize jet that is based out of Teterboro will have a much higher chance of earning money than a light jet based out of Sioux Falls. There are simply more people looking to charter a private jet in the New York City metro area than in the Sioux Falls metro. The money that your private jet can earn is directly proportional to how easily accessible it is and how much passengers are willing to pay.

Conclusion

It is easy to see how a private jet aircraft management company can help you as a private aircraft owner. It can be profitable, or at least play a major role in reducing expenses, to use your private jet as an air charter when it would otherwise sit empty.

At the very least, the money earned by minimal charter services will offset operating costs. At best, the private jet charter can be a good business investment as an income source.

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