A starter’s guide to the five ways to fly by private jet: Full Ownership, Fractional Ownership, Jet Cards, On-Demand Charter, Shared Flights.
If you want to escape the treacheries of big airport terminals and crowded airlines, there are five ways to access private jet flights. Like every beautiful rose, each option has its thorns. Here, we compare the five basic options – full ownership, fractional ownership, jet cards and memberships, on-demand or ad hoc charters, and jet-sharing and by-the-seat.
Since you’re busy, let’s quickly look at the five ways to fly privately, presenting the good and the bad in some easy-to-ready tables.
Handy links will give you a deeper dive into each option.
Annual Usage: 200 + hours
Duration: Typically multiple years
Aircraft Access: The one you buy
While most private jet owners hire a management company to manage their private jet, owning a plane can best be compared to owning a business with employees, expenses, and decisions you must make.
Aircraft brokers say it’s a win if you find an aircraft that fits 80% of your missions.
That means you will likely have a supplemental solution even if you buy a jet.
The supplemental solution covers when your aircraft is down for maintenance, unavailable for other reasons such as crewing, or doesn’t work for your mission from range to seating.
You and a family member or business associate could need private aviation access, so your aircraft can’t fulfill both missions.
The good part is the flexibility you have in terms of controlling your schedule.
READ: Private Jet Owners speak about the good and bad of ownership
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Since it’s your airplane, you can leave equipment and luggage in it when you are making a stop.
Depending on the aircraft type, you can change the configuration.
Aircraft ownership, when used for business, can have tax benefits.
You may also be able to offset some expenses by making your aircraft available for charter when you aren’t using it.
However, the extra flying can mean more maintenance driven by hours and cycles – landings and takeoffs.
Older models no longer in production are less likely to be supported by their OEMs, and in some cases, the OEM is no longer around.
This can impact the availability of parts and components. If you can’t get a replacement, a cracked windshield can ground your jet for months.
Depending on your business, your aircraft can be a billboard.
The owner of Sandals Resorts brands their aircraft with the company logo in larger lettering.
Hiring a professional buyer’s broker and an experienced aviation attorney is highly recommended.
Fees for pre-buy inspections of preowned large cabin jets can range from $50,000 to $100,000, which gives you a preview of the expense side of ownership.
The International Aircraft Dealers Association is a good place to start.
There is also the concept of co-ownership.
Dealers say that owners who enter full ownership, understanding the costs, risks, and downsides, have few regrets despite the downsides.
READ: 40 Steps To Buy A Private Jet
Annual Usage: 50 + hours
Duration: 5 + years
Aircraft Access: Specific model and possibly other models in the fleet
Fractional ownership is designed to provide many benefits of full ownership without the headaches of ownership.
You buy a share in a specific aircraft, which may have tax benefits.
Shares typically start at 50 hours.
In most programs, a 1/16th share equals 50 hours of annual usage, a 1/8th share would be 100 hours, and so forth.
In other words, the provider budgets 800 occupied hours per year for your aircraft. Your actual aircraft would typically fly over 1,000 hours when factoring in repositioning flights.
There are also days-based programs.
Days-based programs can be effective if you make multiple flights on the same day or flights that take advantage of your aircraft’s maximum range.
However, hours-based programs will, in some cases, provide long-flight and efficiency discounts as well.
Most providers charge a monthly management fee regardless of how much you fly.
You then pay a contracted hourly rate plus a fuel variable for the time you are in the aircraft, so long as you fly within the primary or extended service area.
In other words, you don’t have to pay for repositioning.
You get a monthly invoice for your flights and additional charges.
Pro tip: Check your invoices for mistakes!
You don’t have to worry about what the pilots should do while you’re in Aspen for five days.
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While fuel is typically re-rated month-to-month, fractional ownership also gives you cost predictability.
The best part of fractional ownership is access to a fleet of aircraft the owners share.
When a pilot gets sick or there is a maintenance issue (which happens more often than you think), your provider is responsible for bringing a replacement aircraft.
You also don’t pay extra for the recovery flight as you would with ad hoc charter and some jet card programs.
Most fractional providers have a core fleet of aircraft they own or lease, which enables them to fulfill member demand.
Remember that from time to time (typically around 2% of flights with big providers), you will be flying off-fleet because your provider didn’t have an aircraft in their fleet available for your trip.
Many fractional programs allow you to interchange and fly on other aircraft types in their fleets. However, there can be restrictions and extra fees.
READ: Private Jet Fractional Ownership and Leases – A Complete Guide
If you need more hours, the rules vary by provider. The same is true if you underfly when rolling over unused hours.
The most significant negative is the commitment.
Generally, you are locked for three years, and there are penalties for exiting before five years.
Also, if your provider fails, you may receive extra bills—money owed to service providers for your specific aircraft that has yet to be paid.
There is also the residual value.
That’s the price that your provider buys back your share at the end of the term.
In most cases, it’s based on the market pricing at the time your contract expires or when you wish to sell, if earlier than the contract ends.
In other words, get your crystal ball.
Your provider also charges a brokerage fee.
In some cases, you can renew your contract for an additional term. A downside would be a lower residual value at the end of the term. You will be selling an older aircraft with more hours.
Lastly, fractional fleet operators rack up multiple more hours (typically over 1,000 per aircraft per year, including repositioning) than the typical individual owner.
That means a similar vintage fractional jet and one owned by a company or individual flying 200 hours per year will have different values.
There are also financial implications of how and where you buy your share.
Hiring an experienced aviation attorney is highly recommended.
READ: Jet It Lessons: What happens when your private jet provider fails?
Annual Usage: 10 + hours
Duration: 6 + months
Aircraft Access: Category or Fleet Access to Specific Aircraft Type
Jet Cards and membership fill the gap between on-demand charter and fractional or full ownership.
The significant differences are lower financial and duration commitments and less flexibility—more peak days with different terms and longer windows to book or cancel.
Still, jet cards and memberships that offer fixed/capped hourly rates with guaranteed availability make reserving flights as easy as calling, texting, or emailing.
READ: 36 questions to ask before you buy a Jet Card.
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Some jet cards enable you to switch cabin categories from trip to trip.
While some give you a specific aircraft type, others are like a box of assorted chocolates.
If you are new to private aviation, it can be a good way to sample various aircraft types.
READ: Where does your jet card private jet come from?
While jet cards are often a gateway to full or fractional ownership, many flyers use them as their end game because they allow for easier exit.
Downsides include the ability to change terms on short notice via force majeure provisions.
Also, if your provider fails and your funds aren’t in a secured escrow account, you will be an unsecured creditor.
Lastly, remember that not all jet cards or memberships provide fixed or capped hourly rates; instead, use dynamic pricing, similar to on-demand charter.
READ: Six reasons not to buy a jet card
Annual Usage: As needed
Duration: When needed
Aircraft Access: Specific aircraft type you want
Chartering ad hoc or on-demand enables you to ensure you are getting a specific aircraft type, vintage, and even configuration.
Some people don’t want specific aircraft types because of cabin dimensions, range, or baggage capacity.
You can also charter using specific Argus, Wyvern, or IS-BAO safety ratings.
While jet cards will promote those standards, in the fine print, they often only guarantee an aircraft operated under Part 135.
READ: 16 Reasons to use a broker for on-demand charter flights
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The fewer requirements you have – vintage, specific make, and so on, the more likely you will be able to beat jet card rates.
If you are looking for the lowest prices and flying between two airports with lots of private aviation activity, again, you are more likely to be able to beat jet card rates.
The empty leg repositioning flights must be factored into your charge.
Same-day or next-day return roundtrips can also be more cost-effective via ad hoc charter.
A downside of ad hoc charter is that virtually everything from WiFi to catering and deicing is charged extra.
Some jet cards include them.
Other disadvantages of an ad hoc charter are wiring funds each time, cancelation terms, requotes when you need a recovery flight, and the time it takes to negotiate a flight.
The significant variable is different pricing every time.
The availability of what you want can be an issue, especially during peak periods or at the last minute.
READ: Ad hoc Private Jet Charter: The anti-jet card solution has risks, too
Annual Usage: As needed
Duration: When needed
Aircraft Access: Specific routes or being able to find somebody to share with limited options
There are two types of shared private jet flying.
The commonality is that with both, you are using private jet terminals, streamlining your airport experience.
By-the-seat scheduled options enable you to buy seats on flights planned online like an airline ticket.
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Prices range from the low hundreds to thousands of dollars.
A key drawback is limited routes and schedules.
Another drawback is you could be at an airport without other options if there are delays or a mechanical.
Jet sharing or crowdsourcing enables you to save money by coordinating travel plans and splitting costs.
The By-The-Seat tab on the Excel Comparison Spreadsheet provides an overview of current options.
Use the DECIDER CUSTOM ANALYSIS Request form to request an analysis of your flying needs here.
(Editor’s note: We update this story occasionally.)
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