Private Aircraft Management - For the Potential Buyer of a Jet

2025 was not a robust year for international travel to the U.S. The U.S. Travel Association estimates that inbound visits from other countries fell by about 6% year over year, and associated spending by about 3%, driven heavily by “significantly fewer visits from Canada.” New fees and restrictions for travelers plus tensions between the Trump administration and other governments have dampened demand for trips to see U.S. tourist sites and major cities.

However, there are some exceptions – private jet travel being one. As per business aviation market intelligence provider WINGX, international arrivals of business jets into the U.S. increased 4% through September 2025 year over year. Flights from Canada actually rose slightly year over year.

Photo Credit: yoh4nn, iStock / Getty Images Plus

This data point is the latest of many underlining the growth in charter aviation demand following a global pullback in travel in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And, while executives certainly still occupy their share of business jet flights (hence the term “business” jet), corporate flight departments are not driving the increase – in fact, the number of departures they accounted for in the U.S. market fell 16% in 2024 vs 2019, even as departures overall rose 27%.

As more people fly charter more often, the number of flyers for whom owning rather than chartering a private jet might make sense is rising as well, with demand for new business aircraft expected to increase by roughly 3% yearly over the next decade. However, much more goes into owning a private jet than just buying a plane and soaring into the air. Ownership of your own aircraft is complex enough that a global industry of private aircraft management is now well-established – and potential jet buyers would be wise to understand more about it. If you think or hope that this might describe you sooner rather than later, read on.

Fly the Managed Skies

To understand the history of private aircraft management, look back to the rise of corporate flight departments in the 1960s. When large corporations started to buy Gulfstreams and Learjets, they needed someone to fly and maintain the aircraft. Specialized flight departments handled that and much more. However, as business jets became more complex and safety regulations more expansive, some charter operators and fixed-base operators began to offer to provide pilots, schedule maintenance and wrestle with paperwork.

The growth in demand for private jets inside and outside of corporate flight departments in the 1970s to 1990s finished the push for the creation of specialized aircraft management firms. Not unlike real estate property management, private aircraft management firms could offer everything from cost forecasting to human resources services for crew to safety oversight.

Photo Credit: gerenme, iStock / Getty Images Plus

In the decades since, owning and operating a private jet has gotten much more complicated. In the U.S., if you plan to fly yourself, your family and/or your friends and acquaintances on a non-commercial basis, you only have to deal with Part 91 of Federal Aviation Administration operating and flight rules. However, if you wish to make your plane available for hire – necessary if you wish to take the full deduction for depreciation in the year your asset is acquired – whoever operates the plane will need to hold a FAA air carrier certificate and follow the rules of FAA Part 135 regulations.

“Most first-time buyers go with a management company,” says Janine Iannarelli, founder and president of international aircraft brokerage firm Par Avion Ltd. “If you’re a first-time buyer, management is a great way to kickstart your aviation operation.”

Teamwork = Dream Work

Choosing the right aircraft management partner isn’t as simple as pulling up a clearinghouse Website, putting in filters and checking a box. You’re going to need to do some work to figure out which firms will best fit your individual priorities.

Much as you have assembled a team to help you with your purchase, Iannarelli recommends consulting with that team of experts from relevant fields – a tax advisor, a technical expert, an attorney with aviation expertise and your aircraft broker all have something to contribute. Friends who own aircraft will likely have some valuable input as well. Your team members may have specific firms to recommend, but at the very least, they can help steer you clear of red flags and understand your true needs.

Photo Credit: Jelena Danilovic, iStock / Getty Images Plus

After selecting a few management company candidates, the next step is to do your own research – including asking questions of the firms themselves. “Investigate and then interview – and know what you need in terms of planned operation going into those interviews,” Iannarelli says. “Do your due diligence and check references as well as trust your gut.”

At all times, keep in mind your specific plans for your specific plane. Are you planning to fly domestically only, or are you hoping to venture to other countries? Do you plan to make many short trips, or fewer longer ones? Get very specific with your thoughts and expectations.

“Aviation is specialized. For example, a firm that manages 50 light jets for regional hops often lacks the infrastructure to support a long-range Global or Gulfstream flying international missions,” says Amy Bowers, vice president of management sales at aircraft management firm MAnext. “Select a manager whose ‘sweet spot’ of fleet mix and mission profile matches your specific aircraft and lifestyle.”

Money, Honey

After having spent no few dollars to secure your own private jet, it can be appealing to think of applying frugality to your search for a management team. Industry experts, however, say that prioritizing cost over expertise is often counterproductive down the road.

“This is about getting what you pay for,” Iannarelli says. “If you trade off expense for lack of experience, are they going to miss something that’s going to cost you more later on? Are they going to have the depth of resources, including crew members, to help you keep flying later on? What are the guarantees they’re making?”

Iannarelli especially cautions new buyers to beware of management companies who promise to help a plane “pay for itself.” “If a management/charter operation starts to tell you, ‘that aircraft can pay for itself,’ you’ve really got to dig deep into what they mean by that,” she warns.

A smaller management firm may initially be less expensive up front than a larger management firm with a national presence; however, the latter may have more experience with your specific model of aircraft and be able to respond in a more robust manner to unexpected mechanical or other challenges. Larger firms may also be more likely to have a dedicated maintenance tech who is assigned to your airplane to “babysit” it on site throughout the entire maintenance process.

Photo Credit: Thapana Onphalai, iStock / Getty Images Plus

Aviation, unfortunately, has not been immune to general inflationary trends. The growth in business jet travel has put further upward pressure on costs ranging from fuel to crew salaries. Regulation and safety oversight, however vital, don’t make things cheaper.

The right management firm, however, can help counteract those effects. “Management is no longer just a service – it is a tool for cost containment,” MAnext’s Bowers says. “By leveraging fleet scale, we can secure discounts on fuel, insurance and pilot training that individual owners cannot access.” 

Evolutionary Pressure

The right management firm can also ensure that you’re able to keep up with ever-evolving requirements and expectations for business jet operations. For example, safety management systems (SMS) – defined as a “formal, top-down, organization-wide approach to managing safety risk and assuring the effectiveness of safety risk controls” – have long been viewed as a best practice in aviation. In 2024, however, the FAA began to require that Part 135 aviation operators implement an SMS within one to three years, aligning with the mandate for commercial airlines that had been introduced in 2018.

In addition, regulatory bodies around the world are increasingly interested in the environmental impacts of aviation. In 2016, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted an approach known as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) intended to limit the growth in carbon dioxide emissions for aircraft operations. Under CORSIA, aviation companies flying international routes must monitor, report and offset growth in emissions over a 2019 baseline via measures such as purchasing carbon credits or using sustainable fuel.

“In the last decade, aircraft management has evolved from simple administrative support into high-stakes financial and regulatory advocacy,” Bowers advises. “Mandatory SMS and environmental compliance measures such as CORSIA require a level of data tracking and formal reporting that makes self-management nearly impossible for non-experts.”

Increasingly, those in the aviation business will need to stay ahead of the curve in terms of safety and environmental compliance (among other areas). MAnext has a full-time director of safety who monitors upcoming mandates to make sure that clients are compliant ahead of deadlines and verifies that repairs and maintenance meet standards.

New technology can make things easier – if you know how to use it. For example, a digital “risk matrix” can assess whether a planned flight exceeds a safety threshold overall and recommend measures to mitigate risks to allow the flight to proceed safely.

“Safety has transitioned from a reactive ‘repair after failure’ mindset to a predictive, data-first ecosystem,” Bowers says. “Emerging trends focus on using technology, including AI, to eliminate human error and anticipate mechanical issues weeks in advance.”

Photo Credit: Prateep Suttiso, iStock / Getty Images Plus

In past years, inspection reports and support documentation could often be found stapled into logbooks. Now, as with most other areas of life, tracking is expected to be digital as well as paper-based. Management firms can and should be able to use technology to provide aircraft owners with extensive visibility into how their aircraft is doing.

Just as expectations for transparency and communication are expected in all areas of aviation, so too should it be with your management company.  “The management company should offer to have at least a quarterly meeting, especially if your aircraft is operating under Part 135, to discuss how the operation is going, expectations, upcoming maintenance or schedule changes, to name a few,” Iannarelli says. “It’s incumbent upon a management company to create a maintenance plan that looks out through the next big inspection -- which for most models falls into a five-to-six-year cycle -- and lays out a strategy by year going forward.

Moving On

As private jet owners get more experienced and comfortable with owning an aircraft, some may feel comfortable transitioning away from working with aircraft management companies. While this may seem appealing if you’re not looking to lease out your plane, keep in mind that you may well want to sell that plane down the road, perhaps to acquire another, and being able to verify the safety and operational history of your aircraft will be absolutely necessary in that case. You do not want any new discoveries coming to light once you start sale negotiations – and good management companies can keep this from happening.

“Aircraft ownership is all about doing your homework and being prepared for the unexpected, and that includes everything,” Iannarelli says.