Is Your Private Jet Safe? Ask These Questions!

Private aviation is extremely safe, with under 400 deaths in 2015. In other words, you’re ten times more likely to drown in your bathtub. Yes, you heard that right. Over 5,000 people each year drown in their bathtubs.

One advantage of using a jet card is that once you buy into a safety standard that is part of your program, you won’t have to go through this exercise every time, as you would with an on-demand charter.

Below we offer suggested questions about your potential jet card provider or for your charter broker if that’s the way you prefer to go, as well as about the operators they source planes from (if it’s not from planes they own or manage); the standards for the aircraft they will use; and the standards for the pilots who will fly your flights.

Broker Safety Questions:

* What is your jet card provider or charter broker’s experience in private aviation?

Executives point out that private aviation is currently bringing in new entrants, in some cases successful business entrepreneurs whose previous experiences were as passengers or owners of jets, but not operators. This is more prevalent in the charter broker market. Ask about who owns the company? How many employees do they have? How long have they been around? Are they members of NBAA (National Business Aviation Association), the private aviation industry trade group?

* What is the aviation experience of the executives at your jet card provider or charter broker?

If it’s not on their website, ask for bios of top executives, including those who are in charge of sourcing aircraft. Does anyone here have a hand in aviation background?

Brokers are middlemen. Does your broker or jet card provider have deep experience in private aviation?

Do they understand the plane types and capabilities?

More passengers and baggage reduce range. Seats certified for passenger use can include fold-down seats over the toilet. Do they know the planes they are selling well enough to recommend one that is optimal for you and the comfort you want?

How long have they been working with the operators whose planes they use?

* How is your jet card or charter broker provider sourcing planes?

Jet card providers get the planes you will fly from one or more of the following ways: They own and operate them; they own them and contract operations of the planes; they manage aircraft for owners and use that managed fleet to source your flights; they operate a fractional share fleet and use those planes to source your flight; and they go to operators who either own or manage planes to source aircraft to fulfill your flights.

Operator Safety Questions

* What are your jet card provider’s internal safety standards for sourcing aircraft from operators?

Every company you work with should have its own internal standards for sourcing aircraft to fulfill your flights (In the case of some companies, they have varying standards, for example, providing older planes at a lower price).

What are the standards for the operators they work with?

Do they work with any operators who have been involved in accidents, incidents, or FAA violations in the past 10 years?

How long has the operator been in business?

Who are the operator’s executives, and what is their private aviation experience? What ratings agencies do they use as standards?

What third-party ratings do they hold?

ARGUS Platinum and Gold and Wyvern Wingman are private companies. IS-BAO is another third-party assessment. Over 2,500 operators meet the standards set forth by the FAA in Part 135, meaning they can operate charter flights.

The FAA approves maintenance programs for all aircraft operating according to air charter operations specifications. Who maintains the aircraft?

Is it maintained by a factory service center, by an in-house mechanic, or by a local repair facility?

If the factory does not maintain it, how often is/are the maintenance technician(s) sent for training specific to that make/model aircraft?

Pilot Safety Questions

* What are the standards for the pilots that will fly you?

Companies that own or operate managed fleets will be able to answer directly regarding their own standards.

For brokers or jet card providers, ask if they check pilot history?

Do they do it for every flight?

Do they require minimum hours for Pilot-in-Charge (PIC) and First Officer (FO) overall, and in the plane type you will be flying?

Many people want one of the pilots to have at least 250 hours in the aircraft type they are flying. Not all airports are created equal. Do the pilots have experience flying into the airports you will be traveling to, particularly if they are airports in mountainous areas or include long overwater sectors such as Hawaii?

Do they track the service length of pilots at each of the operators they use?

While there will always be new pilots, high turnover should make you cautious.

Will your pilots and flight attendants be trained in first aid and CPR?

Aircraft Questions:

* What are the standards for the aircraft?

How old are the planes?

Do they track maintenance and refurbishment history?

Who owns the plane?  

How many aircraft are in the operator’s fleet?

What is the fleet’s makeup by type?

Larger fleets suggest having more robust service levels, such as finding a replacement for a mechanical.

Do they have any standards for refurbishments or cabin interiors? Owners typically foot the bill for refurbishments, so an ongoing refurbishment history indicates an owner who is investing in his or her plane.

If the aircraft is an older model, what is the condition of its appearance (paint and interior)?

Have the pilot’s instruments and navigation equipment (called aircraft avionics) been updated to current technologies such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Wide Area Augmentation System/Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance (WAAS/LPV), Enhanced Vision System (EVS), or Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS)?

Does your aircraft carry a defibrillator on board and/or subscribe to an in-flight medical assistance program to provide additional medical assistance to passengers?

Not being able to answer all of the above questions or, for business reasons, not wanting to answer them doesn’t mean the provider doesn’t have high standards and can’t serve you well.

Some companies won’t be able to provide information because they don’t have access to it.

However, as you interview and compare potential providers, the above questions should provide you with a good comparison of the companies you are speaking to and how they view the various issues covered in this article.