How Do I Know When I'm Ready to Buy a Jet?

When will you be ready to buy a jet? It happens to be a great question.

After all, knowing whether or not you’re mentally ready to make that move is half the battle.

The other half is purely financial. Then it’s all about the numbers.

Is Aircraft Ownership Right for You?

With the foregoing in mind, when is someone ready to buy a private jet outright?

At Guardian Jet, we tell prospective airplane owners that it usually makes the most sense when they’re flying between 150-300 hours a year on a fractional or chartered jet.

At that level of flying, owning an aircraft outright is actually much more affordable on a cost per hour than fractional and charter travel.

There are many benefits of owning a private jet. Chief among them:

• Very low variable cost
• High residual value
• Personalized crew selection
• High levels of customer service
• Customization of crew and maintenance

One particular benefit of charter is that you only pay for what you use. But, at high levels of usage, you might need more than one vendor to accomplish your goal. That’s because with charter flying (compared to whole ownership) there’s often less control over charter aircraft availability and service delivery.

And with fractional, there are numerous benefits, such has availability and red-carpet customer service.

However, if you’re a frequent flier, it can be very costly. One reason fractional travel can be expensive is because of the one-way pricing on all trips, meaning that there are no "deadheads" or repositioning fees.

Plus, the high usage causes greater depreciation loss for the owners.

Which One is Right for You?

In the past, a light jet was the entry point into whole ownership, but now we’re seeing that super-midsize and midsize aircraft—such as Challenger 300s and Gulfstream G200s—are more popular for first-time jet owners.

Why? It’s primarily due to pre-owned pricing.

To get a feel for current pricing and availability, you can view our current aircraft inventory online.

Are You Ready to Buy a Jet?

It’s a good question that only you can answer.

But to help you make that important decision, our consulting team is ready to help you do a deep dive into the operational costs.

Rather quickly, we can show you the pros and cons of operating your own aircraft—and whether it makes sense to have your own flight department or start out with an aircraft management company.

It’s definitely worth your while to consult with us at Guardian Jet to help you decide whether—and when—it makes sense to purchase a jet.

Call us today at 1-203-453-0800 so we can discuss your specific needs. Or complete the form on our aircraft acqusitions page.