Tag: air charter

Light Jets and Lear, are they all a thing of the past?

Posted on by rbaliatico
lear
Learjet 31a      Photo: Tomás Del Coro

Light Jets and Lear, are they all a thing of the past? Maybe. We will take a look this week at three light jet options for the private jet charter flyer. We can’t begin to discuss this category without talking about Learjet first. For many of us, our first introduction into the world of private jet charter flights were on a Lear. They were one of the first companies to manufacture a private luxury aircraft. They were fast and sleek in design and the Learjet 23 burst onto the private travel scene in the early 60s. After numerous changes in ownership, Learjet has been a subsidiary of Bombardier Aerospace since the early 90s. They gave it their best shot with the Learjet 60 and the 45, but announced in February of 2021 that they would end production of the newest Learjet 75 and the rest of the lineup. In my opinion it is the result of a trend towards moving to larger craft with better range, more seating, ample luggage storage, and increased fuel capacities. Bombardier sited their intention back in 2021 to focus on its larger Challenger and Global Jets. These larger aircraft better meet the growing expectations of the wealthier private jet traveler. For now Bombardier remains committed to fully support the Learjet fleet well into the future, but we are already hearing some complaints from the fleet of about 2000 Lear’s still in service regarding delays in performing necessary annual inspections and other required services. Let’s take a look at a remaining Learjet in the light Jet category and hope it will continue to be a viable option for the private jet flyers needing a short, economical flight to meet their needs.

 

Learjet 31a – Light Jets

This is the extended range version of the original Learjet 31. It’s a late 90s era, seven passenger light jet. As with most Lears it is very fast, and can cruise at 845km/h or 456 kts. It has a flight altitude in between 45,000 and 47,000 ft. The 31a has two rear-mounted turbofan engines produced by Honeywell. The TFE73131-2s are fitted with a digital electronic engine control system, an engine synchronizer and a Dee Howard thrust reverser. The aircraft has conventional and manual controls, and include Honeywell digital avionics with the five-tube electrical flight instrumentation system. The jet can be flown fully by hand or by using the KFC 3100 flight control system, a dual digital three-axis autopilot. The typical layout includes room for both crew members and four passengers. The cabin is fitted with a club-style divan and four Erda Adjustable seats with folding tables. Cabin width is about 4.9 feet and the height is roughly 4.26′ which is very typical of the sleek fuselage design of the Lear.  It has a maximum range of 1,455 nm. The normal baggage capacity is 1.13 cubic meters and an external baggage locker might be included that increases total capacity to 1.47 cubic meters. You can typically find a Lear 31a at an Hourly rate around $2,900* USD per hour. Its a great small jet for a quick hop or an added leg to a bigger mission.

 

Cessna CJ4

cessna, light jets
By ZLEA – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Cessna CJ4 is a beautiful light jet. The first CJ4 was delivered in 2010 after a rigorous flight-test of 1,000 sorties and more than 1,600 hours in the air since its first flight in 2008. It has a 17,110 lb max take-off weight and is a big light jet with typical passenger seating for 7. It looks good because it has the slick wing geometry from the Citation Sovereign and the big Citation Mustang passenger doors. It has the powerful Williams FJ44-4A engines helping it cruise along at a fast 454 kts.  Flying at 43,000 feet is a quick launch from takeoff and the overall range is 1,667 nautical miles. In the cockpit both pilots enjoy increased legroom in a great ergonomic layout. The avionics are the four-display Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 with the latest safety enhancements, including electronic charts, graphical weather uplink, terrain avoidance and anti collision systems. In the cabin, passenger can enjoy the Rockwell Collins Venue cabin-management system, switch panels at each seat position, and power outlets for laptops or cell chargers. There is much more legroom for the passengers than you find in the shorter fuselage CJ3s. The floor in the CJ4 is lowered to provide a wider cabin and better viewing out of the windows. And finally in a light jet, the aft lavatory features a left-handed belted potty with a small vanity. The cabin width is 5 ft as is the height. You will find the average charter rates at about $3,100* USD per hour.

 

Phenom 300e 

phenom 300e
By Matti Blume – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

The first time I had a chance to tour and see this beautiful light jet offering from Embraer executive Jets was at the EAA AirVenture back in 2019. It is pretty much the best-selling light jet in the world and deservingly so. This jet is FAST, capable of speeds up to Mach 0.80 with a ridiculously quiet cabin space. It has a notable safety feature found only in this business aircraft: the runway overrun awareness and alerting system (ROAAS), which provides a warning if the runway approach is too steep or too fast. The jet is a twin-engine cantilever monoplane with low-positioned, swept wings. It has two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535E turbofan engines. The NBAA 4 PAX IFR Range is 1,971 NM with a flight altitude of 45,000 ft. The maximum cruise speed is 453 kts with a max take off weight of 18,387 lbs. The enclosed cabin has room for 9 passengers and a two-pilot crew. The aircraft is installed with advanced Prodigy Touch flight deck based on the Garmin 3000 avionics suite. The flight deck features three 14.1″ interchangeable displays with soft keys. The cabin is typically found in the six passenger standard configuration with seating that has an extendable comfy headrest along with bolsters, retractable armrest, broad seatbacks, and extendable leg rests. The cabin is also installed with HD by Lufthansa Technik, a state-of-the-art cabin control system which supports the integration of portable devices and enables wireless audio and video streaming. The cabin width is 5′ 1″ and the height is 4′ 11″. To charter the fast Phenom 300e you will pay about $3,350* USD per hour.

Referencing the light jet private travel category – “With each passing decade the needs changed, Mark Masluch, Bombardier’s director of communications, told the Robb Report  in an April 21st, 2022  article. “First it was city-to-city, then it became coast-to-coast, then trans-Atlantic, then trans-Pacific. People used to enter the market with a light jet and work their way up, but now, with the range needs and the amount of wealth creation, they go right to a mid-size or even a $60 million global jet.” Light jets are far less profitable than their bigger siblings in the mid to heavy jet categories putting additional pressure on the production of future light jets. Next week we look at three reasons in the mid-sized jet category making our customers say “go big or stay home. “

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*These are base hourly rates per craft type with no ferry times, FET taxes, taxi time, or fuel surcharges. Typical final hourly rates will be higher based on category and timing.

 

 

 

 

 

Size matters when its a Private Jet Charter

Posted on by rbaliatico

size matters                                                                                                                                                    Size matters when its a private jet charter. Luckily there are a lot of jet sizes to choose from when it comes to selecting your charter. They start in the category of very light jet all the way to a Boeing Business Jet that is the size of a commercial airliner. Today we will take a look at the entry level of the 4 categories in the air charter world, the very light jets.  Since there are many in this category, we will discuss 3 of the hotter very light jets. It really comes down to what the mission is and how many people will be aboard. It also can have a lot to do with who will be flying. Sometimes the CEO will need his or her own space away from the travel group, and then only certain jets will do. Or the trip is for a large group and the seating capacity will be the main priority. Cargo space may be a deciding factor for a golfing weekend or a fashionista with an entourage of luggage. There are also various cruise speeds and the range flown without a fuel stop to consider. All in all, the process of choosing the right jet for a charter can be simple or at times very complex, especially on a multi-leg tour. Let’s look at the Very Lights this week.

Very Light Jets – Size Matters

 

very light jet
By Kentaro Iemoto – Cirrus Vision SF50(N280CJ), CC BY-SA 2.0

The Cirrus Visionjet has a capacity of 7 passengers including crew with a max operating altitude of 31,000 ft. Its max cruising speed is 305 knots true airspeed (ktas) with a max takeoff weight of 6,000 lbs and 1400 lb payload. The plane has a max range of 1,275 nautical miles (NM) with an average flight range of 950NM. The jet has some very interesting features like its “Safe Return” autonomous feature, where the plane could fly itself if for some reason the pilot became incapacitated during the flight. It would be able to fly at the correct altitude, maintain the proper speed, and even land itself all at the touch of a button. The plane has an iconic V-tail design and is powered by a Williams International FJ33-5A turbine engine with Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). The flight displays are an expansive 14-inches and offer split screen tech for multi feature display. The jet has room for three of these displays allowing the pilot to check the status of all systems easily.  The cabins are very modular and they typically can have up to 28 possible seating configurations. The premium leather seating is what you would expect in a more expensive larger jet and the upholstery is first class.  I personally like the executive layout, but that will only have 2 passenger seats, room for luggage, and the pilot and co-pilot seats in the flight deck. The “complete” configuration is more common and will give you passenger seating for five but is more comfortable for four as in most very lights. The Cabin width is 5.1 ft and a height of 4.1 ft so you will need to bend over to get in or out of your seat as expected in these smaller jets. Like we said, size matters. You can expect to pay roughly $2,500 USD per hour to charter the Cirrus Vision Jet.

eclipse 550
By TheSkunk – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Eclipse 550 Jet has the capacity of 6 passengers including crew with a max operating altitude of 41,000 ft. Its max cruising speed is 375 ktas with a max takeoff weight of 6,000 lbs and a lower 636 lb payload. This plane has a max range of 1,125 nautical miles with a very efficient twin-engine jet fuel consumption of only 59 gallons per hour. It also comes equipped with FADEC which translates into reduced pilot workload. It is powered by twin Pratt & Whitney PW610F turbofan engines that are specially designed for the point to point travel of the new generation of private flyers. Pilots enjoy an advanced Flight Management Systems with benefits such as enhanced situational awareness, electronic charts and maps, display and control of the aircraft systems, and integrated autopilot control panel. The interior has the feel of a luxury suite with ergonomically designed seats with ample space to store your luggage. The cabin width is 4.6 ft and the height is 4.2 ft so a little narrower than the Cirrus. The 550 will typically have a $2,850 USD per hour rental rate within the range for these very light jets.

private jet
By Michael Pereckas – HondaJet, CC BY 2.0

The Honda HA-420 Jet has the capacity of 7 passengers including crew and a max operating altitude of 43,000 ft. Its max cruising speed is 420 ktas with a max take off weight of 10,600 lbs and a 547 lb payload. The plane has a max range of 1,206 nautical miles with a sleek design resulting in reduced drag at higher speeds. It has a very prominent over-the-wing engine configuration setting it apart in this class. The jet is powered by twin GE Honda HF120 turbofans developed under the GE-Honda partnership. It is a low wing monoplane that has a composite fuselage and aluminum wing. The typical flight deck features the first touchscreen controlled all-digital glass integration with the Garmin G3000 avionics system. The cabin is 5 ft wide with a height of 4.8 ft. It feels a lot bigger when you are seated inside for sure which comes from its cutting edge combination of co-cured integral structure and honeycomb sandwich structures. The leather seating in the cabin is wide and ample for larger passengers, can be moved inwards for better headroom and shoulder space, and has an executive feel. The HA-420 will typically be a bit less expensive these days at a $2,400 hourly rental rate as the newer more expensive Honda Elite Jet becomes more widely available.

Of course there are many more options to choose from than just the aforementioned trio. Offerings from Cessna like the Mustang, the Citation M2 and the Cessna Citation jets all require a mention here and are very popular choices. They are great planes in this category and are definitely tried and true. The three we featured are a little more bold in style and appeal to the newer gen set becoming jet set. Next week will will look at the workhorses of the light jet entries in our charter world.

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*These are base hourly rates per craft type with no ferry times, FET taxes, taxi time, or fuel surcharges. Typical final hourly rates will be higher based on category and timing.

The 50 Hour Guideline, what is it?

Posted on by rbaliatico

50 hour guideline, flying private                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 The 50 hour guideline for flying private.

 

 

 

What a crazy week we just went through.  A rare November hurricane, Hurricane Nicole, ripped through central Florida and its Atlantic coast causing more damage to a state still in the throws of recovering from the devastation hurricane Ian caused. The dramatic midterm election has kept politicians spinning their defeats while we ponder the ramifications. The good news of a cooling economy CPI figure led to a nice market rally only to see the crypto world implode via the newly announced bankruptcy at FTX. The FTX sponsorship sign on the crown of the Miami Heat arena came down faster than its creator fled the Bahamas, supposedly in a private jet.

Well luckily in the private aviation world this all disappears as soon as we hear the familiar whirr of the Jet engines that help us leave it all behind as we depart for our next adventure. This week we will discuss The 50 Hour Guideline. If you feel you will prefer or have the need to fly private, it is important to take a look at how many hours per year you are likely to fly. If you plan to fly more than 50 hours per year you may want to look into either owning a jet or, more likely, investing in a fractional ownership of a jet. If you plan to fly fewer than the 50 hour guideline, then the world of private air charter and the many features it offers will be the optimal choice.

I define the big players in private air charter industry as companies owning and operating 80 or more planes on their respective books. Many of these (8 companies by my last count), are the ones you are probably most familiar with and see advertised all the time. Some are public companies, some plan to be public companies, and the rest are still private. They all typically have ever-changing flight memberships like jet cards that usually park your dollars towards future private flights. Perks vary, and hourly rates are for the most part, subject to change.  The most important decision for you is to choose the right tool for your flight missions. Many of you are new this type of travel and are being propelled into it by our recent Covid-19 pandemic. The good news is you have many options to find the right company to do business with. Some companies are charter brokers, and some are charter providers with very big operations using their own planes.

A company like ours specializes in what is called an empty leg. These are the one-way flights many operators list for sale with a specific plane travelling between two specific locations and are often at a discounted price. The better companies, like ours of course, have contacts and relationships with many of these private air charter operators so we can string together one-ways to give you roundtrip capability, or accomplish multi-leg missions. Many times we utilize both for these multi-legs, so we can save you money with an empty leg or two combined with a regular air charter agreement to get the job done.

The good news is when you charter a plane you can decide the schedule, who travels with you, and where you are flying to. There are more than 5000 public use airports in the United States compared to only about 500 commercial, giving you greater flexibility in your travels.  Then you decide if you want to work directly with an operator which can be limiting since it will depend on the size of their fleet, the size of the planes they have, and their typical destinations. The good thing is that these companies will be operating under the FAA Part 135a rules as we discussed in prior posts. There are also a lot of brokers that work as the middleman to get you flights. Some of these are quite large and prefer not to own their own planes. They will instead have affiliate programs with multiple 135a operators, which will give you more options than with stand alone charter operators. Our company acts more like a client representative or advocate, helping you manage all your private aviation needs. Although we have our contact list of preferred operators, we keep your options open to provide the best price-value ratio we can find. We do all this while keeping your anonymity to make sure the operators don’t price based on your financial status or fame.

There are many types of aircraft to choose from and we will discuss them more later. Often the aircraft decision will be based on the distance of the flight and the number in your travel party. Some shorter flights can be easily accommodated by a prop plane such as a King Air, but some clients tell us that isn’t the way they think of private air charter telling us props are for boats. We try to keep an open mind, and make suggestions of all suitable craft so you can decide how to spend your hard-earned money.

The industry is a bit complex and, quite frankly, there are many options to choose from when it comes to your private jet provider.  You have the smaller firms pushing Jet Cards, and bigger ones touting special memberships. Some are good and some are bad, but the one thing I can say for sure is that whatever type of offer you choose you can expect it to change often. We often see hourly rates go up, or changes in the amount of taxi times, or lately the dreaded fuel surcharges being added. For the most part, you just need some good advice and help along the way to navigate these turbulent waves. Once you find that person or company you can really start to enjoy private jet travel.

We rely on our flyer profiles to know who you are and what you do in life. We make sure we fully understand the type of private air travel you need and whether its for business or pleasure or a little of both. Pricing can be quite the shock for the first timer. Many think for a couple of bucks more I can move from flying business or first class to flying private. Some want to just buy the seat in a private plane with others looking to do the same. That has some advantages in price, but its far from being private. We feel its all relative and sometimes you have to put the price into perspective for the clients. The most important thing is to build a good synergy with the company or person handling these flights and inquires for you. The relationship you build can save you thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

We will broadly step into the common aircraft types and what missions they’re best suited for in next weeks post. Then in future posts you can expect to see some detailed aircraft reviews and outlooks as the industry changes.

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Private air charter has many challenges

Posted on by rbaliatico

private air charter                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Private air charter has many challenges ahead. Pictured above is one of our Managing Partners, Katherine Koch, my darling wife and future commercial ATP pilot. Unfortunately she only represents a small number of future commercial pilots headed towards the private air charter industry or a major commercial airlines. The pilot shortage is private aviation’s number one challenge, further exacerbated by competition for pilots from airline and freight operations. The airlines are offering huge sign-on bonuses, great work schedules, amazing benefits packages, and lofty annual salaries particularly for anyone experienced enough to graduate to the left seat of these jets. After forcing early retirements during the pandemic, the majors are desperately playing catch-up in this highly competitive industry. Upward mobility was already accelerated before the pandemic but now in the aftermath pilots are upgrading at minimums and jumping from regional to major airlines with unprecedented speed. There is a huge presence in aviation schools by most of the regional airlines that feed these major carriers, something we are not seeing enough of by the private air charter industry. It is a major challenge among many others we will discuss further in this article. In this article, we will take a quick look back 5 years ago at the challenges to private air charter that have shaped the current industry. In next week’s post, we will take a deeper dive into the current private air charter industry.

The private jet charter business had its fair share of problems like any other industry five years ago. Staffing was an issue but not to the extent it is today. Other factors overshadowed the issue back then. A lot of air charter companies didn’t have enough foresight and planning skills. Many wound up with negative budgets by spending way more than they were taking in. Debt had a way of getting out of control especially when the tempting business and lucrative opportunities of private jets blinded many before it was too late. Lawsuits from unhappy flyers, ex-employees, competing companies, and even the government were also mounting. Lawsuits can easily ground even the best private aviation organizations. Even airports caused operators location issues as many towers lost their funding and were decommissioned or were under pressure from localities looking to take the land and develop it for housing.

Further, it is easy to see the operational inefficiencies of the management of emptylegs. Many flyers don’t even know what an emptyleg is, and, worse, are often unaware they are paying for them.  For example, let’s say a flyer is in New York with a business need in Chicago but the operator’s plane is in Houston. The plane first has to be flown from Texas to New York most likely empty. Then the plane picks up the passengers to bring them to Chicago, but the flyer isn’t leaving anytime soon because they are in town for a business conference. For many reasons the plane and crew may have to go back to the home base and depending on demand may be flown back to Texas empty without passengers. Guess who pays for all that flying? You got it: most of the time its the flyer who booked the flight! What the flyer sees as one flight from New York to Chicago may actually be three flights. Add in a broker fee, flight card membership, et cetera, and you’re looking at footing a pretty large bill. Sometimes operators have to absorb the costs of of the empties, cutting into their margins. With this simple example, you can see how inefficient and complex the business can be. Keep in mind this was the common structure five years ago and there are many new aspects to this “empty flying” we will discuss in our current look at the industry next week.

Five years ago, there were all kinds of new apps that were funded by all types of investors. Some of these investors are famous and some are very rich and influential.  Memberships with those companies and cost of flights had nothing to do with actual costs and profit margins. Some operators intentionally operated at a loss for the sake of customer acquisition, particularly for influencer types of flyers. Investor money covered the differences (losses) as the invested parties wagered for a huge IPO in the future in hopes of reaping a bigger ROI. Unfortunately, that often didn’t happen. Wall Street loves revenue, profits, and earnings per share, something these apps and operators had no way of showing.  Add in fluctuating fuel prices that made planning and forecasting impossible; operators often have little power over fuel prices and can get caught in the crosshairs of government policies. Many of these operators agreed to fixed hourlies to get clients for these new apps, cutting their margins and making them ripe for failure.  Adding in rising insurance costs and the overall expenses from the certification process to make an operator a FAA 135  compliant operator, many operators were headed to bankruptcy court or being purchased by larger operators. This trend of consolidation really started in the last five years and we are seeing it continue today. Back then many operators were inefficient in the overall day to day operations of their charter businesses and positioned themselves for takeover bid or overall failure of the business. 

It truly has brought us to this point today and the writing is on the wall for this upcoming year. With the realities of recession, production delays due to supply chain issues, and many aspects of our industry we will touch on next week, it is clear that what we do today will shape the future of the private air charter industry. There is a lot of opportunity, and many large private air charter operations are well positioned for dominance, but this industry’s growth potential still dwarfs the number of players on the field, leaving more cake than crumbs for the smart operator and people serving them.

The Japanese have a concept called Kaizen referring to business activities that continuously improve all functions and involve all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers. Kaizen also applies to processes, such as purchasing and logistics, that cross organizational boundaries into the supply chain. It is something the industry needs to embrace and we will explore this too next week. 

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You Have Grown Tired of Commercial Flights

Posted on by rbaliatico
grown tired of commercial flights, successful
One of the Most Popular Entry Level Business Jets – Phenom 300E

You have finally decided it makes sense to consider buying a business jet. It would take several blog posts to cover all the options in front of you if this the path you and your company are on, but lets take a look at where to begin. For the sake of keeping things simple, lets assume you are very successful as is your business and you have grown tired of commercial flights and all their shortcomings. You went from flying main cabin economy or premium economy (ooh extra legroom) to Business and First Class in your overnight success story. Then the recent pandemic tore threw the industry causing early commercial aviation retirements and all types of inconveniences you are not happy with nor will you accept. At American Airlines they had 39,000 pandemic related early retirements many of whom were pilots, and that’s just at American Airlines. There is a huge shortage of pilots in the world with the demand nearing 40,000 to 50,000 needed during this decade alone. That’s why I outlined the long path to the left seat in our last blog post, so you can see the many challenges ahead of you. Commercial flying isn’t going to get better anytime soon and you know it. That’s why you looked at your business or businesses, net worth, and got the idea to buy a jet to complete your future business trips. Maybe by now you have charted a private jet for one of these and loved it. No TSA lines to get on, delayed flights, or cancellations that make no sense. A beautiful drive to the FBO and tarmac, quick exchange to the airplane interior, and that fresh chilled cloth to wipe away the days stress. But is this Phenom 300E even in your budget if you decide to purchase? How do you buy it, via a fractional?

Fractional jet purchases are where you pay for a portion of the plane with other like minded jet owners. You don’t need a plane all the time, so sharing with other owners makes sense. Your cost for this is less, but somewhat restrictive. You still might have to deal with delays due to mechanical issues like you would with owning the entire plane or have to deal with blackout dates. Buying a jet non-fractional, has many options to consider too. Size of plane to meet your needs, how it will be flown, where it will be hangered, crewing the plane, etcetera. You most likely will turn to a management firm for this and they will also talk to you about possibly chartering out the plane for the times you wont need it. I can go into great detail on this subject but its more suited towards a future post.

The point is that it makes more sense to charter for a while first. Many people like you come to this realization and typically turn to either a broker or maybe a paid service. There are many paid services today for private jet travel. Some are very slick and effortless which usually matches their respective membership fees and/or jet card programs. The more you pay, the better they typically will be at least in reliability or fleet access. This wont save you money, it will save you time, hopefully, as the real hourly cost to fly will be considerably higher than if you had just called a charter operator and booked the flight(s) yourself. You are still way better off going this route first prior to making that jet purchase. It will ensure you know exactly what you need and what makes sense. Done correctly, your future jet purchase can then be quite a good investment, especially if you take the time to charter first and explore your options. The new private jet owners we have helped navigate from private jet charter to ownership, find themselves in great positive equity positions with their newest acquisition, and are already looking for their next plane purchase. But it still makes sense to start the journey via charter with a reputable service that can guide you along the way. Like I already mentioned these companies have all kinds of private jet programs, Apple and Android apps, some even have their own planes to choose from. They are all pretty good at what they do. The better they are, the more they charge. For most of us, its not about price anyway, its about service and maybe nice perks or upgrades. You have to start somewhere because commercial flying is not worth your time…period. Even if you are currently flying on private jets with a membership or via a broker, its time to really look at the industry, how and why it operates, and are you getting what you pay for.  What are your true hourly costs per aircraft category? Will changes in the economy with inflation, a recession, be the time to rethink your business and even your leisure travel? Finally, how comfortable are you with your current broker or paid service, and more importantly, how safe are you flying?

Just a week prior to the writing this post we lost the founder and CEO of RSG Group and Gold’s Gym, Rainer Schaller. All we know is that he was in a private plane (Piaggio P180 Avanti) with 5 other people in Costa Rica. We don’t know the details of the crash, but as a company we make it our business to be sure we have an immediate handle on what might have happened. It will take years to discover any possible issues with the specific plane, but its data our clients expect us to be on top of. Large corporations will not fly executives in specific manufactures planes after hearing there was an incident in one. Many times it has nothing to do with the quality or safety of the jet, but it wont matter as perception often trumps reality. In the meantime, we will end our post here and send our heartfelt sorrow to the families and friends of those aboard that flight. Next week we will delve further into the Private Jet charter Industry and discuss specifically the inefficiencies they work with.

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I think I should just buy my own jet

Posted on by rbaliatico

buy my own jet, own private jet                                                                                                                                                      I think I should buy my own jet is a statement I hear often from many of our newly referred clients. Owning your own private jet or even a prop plane is a big endeavor for any person or business. Let’s look at the beginning for people interested in actually owning and flying their own plane or jet. 

My wife, Katherine Koch, one of our managing partners will profess rent or charter first. She’s a private pilot that currently owns two prop planes and is working towards building the experience necessary for her ATP. Katie loves to fly! She earned her private pilot license before having a drivers license. She’s very active in the aviation industry and is the Chairperson for The Florida Goldcoast Chapter of The Ninety-Nines International. The Ninety-Nines is a non-profit charitable organization of women pilots from over 44 countries that promotes advancement of aviation through education, scholarships and mutual support. She constantly hears people say I think I should buy my own plane. I have often heard her ask potential pilots and business owners why they want to buy a plane. The top answers are they want to save money learning to fly or want to save money flying on their own or want to have their own jet for business purposes. She typically responds it is better to rent while learning because each license presents a different mission and you should always fly the plane that is most suitable for your mission. If you just love a certain plane and want to fly, do it, buy that plane and get going with your training. But if you think it will be less expensive to rent because you own, my friend you are very wrong. The same applies to purchasing a business jet, it is rare to have the same mission every flight. For example, you may need to transport key managers one day (suitable for a Honda Jet) and a team of 9 the next week (Gulfstream G500), or you may need to visit a remote office with an airport with a short runway one day and go into a major city the next. Regardless, chartering the flights until you know which aircraft best suit your mission and needs is definitely the way to go. If you’re looking to buy, charter first before considering a business jet purchase. Learning to fly, while rewarding, is not for everyone particularly if you wish to pilot a jet. Initial training  includes private, instrument, commercial, and multi-engine. At an economic Part 141 school you can achieve this with about $75,000 and a year and a half with savings on both if you are dedicated full time to the endeavor. You then will need to get a type rating for the specific aircraft. If your aircraft or insurance require an ATP rating, you need to build a minimum of 1500 hours, about 1200 additional hours, in order to meet ATP minimums. If you build this time by working full time (for peanuts) at a very busy flight school you can build this time in about a year, but it likely will take longer if you have other obligations in your life.

Regardless of what type of plane or jet you may be interested in buying, there are many costs involved. Aircraft values have increased significantly in the past few years and it is still a seller’s market. It is necessary to have a pre-buy inspection performed by a reputable shop. There are many upfront fees and payment of taxes to consider. Once you purchase the plane, a safety conscious owner will inevitably invest in a good deal of maintenance to ensure the previous owner didn’t overlook anything. Then you have the cost of storage. Depending on where you live, finding a space outside on the ramp or inside a hangar can be both difficult and expensive, some areas have waiting lists for their hangars. Using a tie down at the local airport sounds cheap enough until you consider the deterioration caused by exposure to weather and uv rays causing higher repair costs and down time, greater likelihood of theft and collision, or, as we spoke about recently, a tornado decides to rip your investment in half like many experienced when Hurricane Ian visited Florida. In South Florida, it is very difficult to find hangar space for a small plane and even more rare to find hangar space for a larger aircraft or jet. Then you have maintenance costs to consider. Private piston planes and jets don’t have simple scheduled oil changes and tire rotations like you do for your Porsche 911. They are annually brought back to a standard near new condition to make sure you are safe to fly it. There are no cost cutting moves or coupons to reduce your bill. And you can’t do them yourself. They must be performed by a very well trained Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) mechanic and the work must be signed off by an A&P with Inspection Authorization (IA). Ideally, a reputable Part 145 repair station with oversight from the FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) will perform the work. If minimal work is needed on a just a small piston plane, the annuals are several thousands of dollars. When it comes time for engine overhauls, propeller overhauls, undercarriage overhauls, or non-destructive testing, for example, the invoices soar while you remain grounded waiting on the work. With current parts shortages the lead times can be months and in some cases over a year. For jets, they have very expensive overhauls scheduled on time limits as well as depending on usage. One of our customers purchased a jet for the family to go between their homes in the US and Europe only to have a medical issue followed by pandemic closures essentially ground their plane. Despite very little use, they had to perform overhauls costing several hundred thousand dollars because of the time that passed. Needless to say the customer is looking to sell the family jet now and continue chartering with us. Further, many manufacturers only recognize certain repair stations so you may need to take the plane to four different shops spread out throughout the US to have the required maintenance performed. Often these specialty repair stations have waiting lists so planning becomes paramount. For this and many other reasons many jet owners use maintenance management companies to avoid the daily headaches. Another overlooked cost is insurance. If you plan to fly your plane you may be limited as to which aircraft you can be insured to fly. For example, insurance for our larger plane requires a certain number of total hours, a certain number of hours for that type of landing gear, a certain number of hours in that model, and an instrument rating all for the privilege of being able to purchase insurance. Insurance for jets is naturally a higher barrier. You have insurance which will cover liability and hull insurance to cover the replacement cost of a plane. Incredibly long story short: Renting or chartering will be the best option for anyone planning to fly their own plane or jet for sure until ownership is a desire not a cost savings idea.

Next week we will turn our attention to the business purchase of a Jet.

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