Studying your expected utilization, preferences, geographic considerations, security, and personal needs can be a great way to learn which private flight option is the best for you.
Let’s learn about each to see which match your needs best!
Full Ownership
Whole aircraft, or partner ownership, provides instant access to private air travel, and this is what many people still think of when talking about flying privately.
The advantages are clear for owning your own private jet – you fully own it, meaning you have full control over times, dates, customer services, amenities, personalized features, and frequency.
But there is always a downside.
Whole or full ownership also means you have only one aircraft to fit all flight needs, which translates to no multi-departures or availability during maintenance. Additionally, there are extra repositioning fees, high initial cost on the investment, depreciation, and high capital at low levels of use.
Now, this is where the flyer must decide if they feel the positives outweigh the negatives or if another option might fit their needs more accurately.
For some clients, whole ownership and the associated fees such as $700,000 to $4 million in maintenance or continued costs per year are not considered too steep for the convenience of having your own private aircraft. However, for others, this is not the case and a marriage between needs and wants must be found.
Partial Ownership
Fractional or partial ownership is most commonly associated with NetJets, introduced in 1986, and Warren Buffett. This form of private jet travel was the standard for many years if you didn’t want to own a plane or didn’t use private air travel enough to warrant such a large purchase – both upfront and in operating costs.
Fractional ownership can most easily be explained as if you are buying a share of a fleet or plane, but issues similar to timeshares can come up because of this, in particular, the sharing part. If you are spending at the very least 100,000 dollars, then often the fractional owners have difficulties agreeing on usage times, dates, and heavy-flying periods, even if your fleet is large.
Additionally, usually, there is a time commitment involved, anything from 3-7 years, which might not be convenient for all fractional owners. How can you know your travel needs for the next 5 years? What if you find yourself needing more in-air hours or fewer? What if you will require international private jet flights and your company doesn’t cater to that need? Or what if you find the service or aircraft not up to expected standards? What can be done when you are in a long-term relationship with an expensive partner.
It is important to note as well that there is a higher cost at a higher level of utilization for most fractional ownerships, meaning those who use private jets often are not getting the best deal from fractional ownership.
On Demand Private Jet Charters
On Demand private jet charters have been around as long as the idea of owning a private jet, however, their practices have improved so vastly in recent years that the private jet chartering business is nearly unrecognizable from its former self.
In large part, this is due to private jet brokerage companies getting their technology, customer services, and inventory aligned with the needs of their clientele. However, there are downsides to this seeming jack-of-all-trades, like a lack of availability if your broker doesn’t have a long reach or many contacts in the industry to call on when flights are thin.
Going along with the above, if your broker is not full-service, you might just have to book through multiple operators – costing you more of your time, effort, and energy. This is why it is imperative to find yourself working with a full-service broker who is able to find whatever you want, whenever you want it, and do it all themselves.
Benefits of On Demand Private Jet Charters:
- No investment in a depreciating asset
- No fixed costs or fees
- No contracts or time commitments
- Only pay for the hours you use
- More flexibility for changes in hours, days, number of flights, or aircraft desired
- Lowest cost for flyers of 50-500 hours per year
Cons of On Demand Private Jet Charters:
- Less control over availability if your broker isn’t well connected
- Might need several operators if your broker isn’t full-service