Guidelines For Buying A Private Jet

Buying a private jet is no child's play. No wonder then that corporate executives rack their brains quite a bit over such decisions. A bad investment without proper need for it could leave a big hole in the accounts. At the same time, without a private jet, a busy schedule could get onto the nerves of the executives and substantially reduce their productivity. Here are some guidelines to go with for buying a private jet.

Cost of a private jet is more than just the initial investment

True, that a very light private jet could be bought for as less as 1.5 million dollars. However, if corporate consider only this amount they would doing a major budgeting mistake. Often, the maintenance costs of the private jet could exceed the purchase cost. If it is a used jet and you find some spare part in bad shape, the cost could go up to 50,000 dollars to procure it. If you include the wages of the flight mechanics, crew and most importantly the flight pilot the average costs will skyrocket. Mandatory expenses like fuel costs, take off and landing fees at airports, hangar costs for parking, fee of the legal advisers for helping you with aviation laws and fee of the jet management company, all put together could easily exceed more than a million dollars every year. Add to it the insurance premium and you are looking at a big number. Therefore buying a private jet requires significant investment and hence should have a strong business need.

Consider charter jets if the executives don't fly more than once or twice a month

Private jets could be money savers if corporate executives need to fly almost every alternate day and the trips could include intercontinental destinations. However, if the executives need to fly only once in a while, a charter jet is not a bad option at all. A charter jet can be ordered in just 4 hours notice. It provides the same services as a privately owned jet minus the maintenance and responsibility. Charter jets, though would prove expensive if more than couple of trips are required every week.

Consider the options of buying used jets or fractional ownership of private jets

If corporate executives have to fly across continents at least once every week, there is no doubt that a super size private jet from Boeing or Airbus is the best option. The super size jets could fly up to 4000 miles carrying as many as 20 people. However, the cost could touch 70 million dollars. Two options that can be considered are buying used jets or going for fractional ownership. Fractional ownership will split the costs but so will the ownership of the jet be. You may need your executives to visit one corner of the globe while the jet has been taken by another partner to a diametrically opposite corner of the globe. If the conflict could be resolved some way, this could easily be the best option available and also cost less in the longer term compared to chartered jets or even commercial flights. Used jets cost less too but you would never know what part throws a problem and what it could cost.