Buying a private jet is a big decision. And it’s not just because of the important initial investment (tens of millions of dollars depending on the jet), but mainly due to all the associated costs involved. In fact, there’s a key indicator that somewhat justifies buying instead of chartering year-long; the number of hours that you will actually use your plane. Roughly from 250 to 350 hours are needed to make buying a private jet a wise financial decision; an important amount that most business aviation travelers don’t meet.
Investment doesn’t stop with the purchase of the plane
Other costs to consider are maintenance, scheduled and non-scheduled, FBO costs for every take-off and landing, hangar costs, fuel, insurance, catering and the crew. When you charter an aircraft, all these costs are within the booking price, without the need to account for the separate arrangement of each one of these variables, which, by the way, is a major investment in time.
If after considering this extensive checklist is still makes financial sense to buy a plane, private jet operators such as Monarch Air Group in Fort Lauderdale advise future owners to try a specific jet before buying, especially when purchasing a used aircraft (when a test flight from the manufacturer does not necessarily apply). Apart from the price of the charter, there’s a wide array of variables to account for: size, range, cabin noise, overall comfort and maintenance logs, just to name a few.
“Soon-to-be owners understand that the only way to make the right decision is to test, several times and under different circumstances, a specific private jet. Others take their decision to another level by booking a handful of aircraft in the same route to compare their operational capacities. The latter is a slower process that might take up to a month, but if you consider that you’ll own the aircraft for at least five years, then it’s worth taking your time and making the right decision,” explains David Gitman, Executive Director of Monarch Air Group.
Chartering is much more efficient
Nevertheless, for most of private jet travelers and companies that use this service around the world, chartering is much more efficient, cost effective, and less uncertain that owning a jet or fleet, especially if someone is new to the business. In fact, corporations that opt to shift how they move their top executives from meetings, from first-class to business aviation for example, should first transition into chartering before trying to “upgrade” into owning a jet or several aircraft.
“Private jet charter should always come before owning a jet, because it’s the right way to get to know the market and really the only way to entirely justify such a large investment, if you still want to buy a jet after experiencing the amenities of the charter segment”, concludes Gitman.
Established in 2005, Monarch Air Group is a leading provider of on demand private jet charter, aircraft management and long-term aircraft lease. Among Monarch’s customers are Fortune 500 corporations, leading entrepreneurs, Government agencies and world leading NGO’s.