Spend enough time in the field of business, and you’re bound to find plenty of executives who refuse to fly on a commercial airline. While this would theoretically be the least expensive way to get around in the sky, it’s hard for those with erratic schedules. As a result, you’ll often hear people debate whether it’s less expensive to own a jet or charter one whenever necessary. There are a number of incremental extras that can quickly add up whenever someone decides owning a plane is less expensive.

Hidden Costs Associated with Jet Ownership

Planes must be tested regularly to keep them in compliance with all relevant regulations handed down by the Federal Aviation Administration. Whenever some part seems to be out of agreement with industry-standard specifications, mechanics have to be called in so that they can look over the damaged components and bring them back up to code. Sudden expenses can end up costing operators thousands of dollars for each flight.

By using a private jet cost estimator, it quickly becomes apparent how the economics of scale play into this. Charter flight operators can invest in their own maintenance infrastructure, which is designed to provide needed services to dozens of planes simultaneously. They’re then able to pass these savings on to their clients.

When one of their jets fails an examination, it can simply be cycled out of service and replaced with the next safe vehicle. This prevents delays, which can often translate into greater expenses for those who must be in a specific place at a given time. Even more important, however, is that they hire their own aircrews to work on their equipment.

Keeping an Aircrew Employed

The biggest cost associated with owning a private jet isn’t necessarily tied to the aircraft as much as the ground and flight crews needed to fly one. Unless you are an instrument-rated pilot who enjoys flying your own aircraft, you must hire one and pay them a competitive rate. On top of this, you’ll need a flight engineer and a crew to care for the plane. Those who plan on having any hospitality service aboard their jet will also need to invest in crews capable of managing these aspects of the flight experience.

According to one study, average salary spending in the field of business aviation increased by around 13% in a 12-month period. This alone should demonstrate how expensive it is to keep a crew on your payroll. Aircrew salaries sometimes represent a greater annual expense than the regular purchase of new planes. Over time, regulatory challenges could also increase pressures on private jet owners.

Dealing with Aviation Industry Red Tape

Regulators are under an increasing amount of scrutiny by environmental conservationists and economists, who feel that there should be additional limitations on how private jets are used. In some cases, these may turn into taxes that have to be paid by the owners of these jets. While nothing is ever certain about public policy, several regulatory changes will likely occur in the next few years.

Business representatives who manage their own jets will have to deal with these changes independently, while those who work with charter organizations won’t have to worry as much. The operators of their charter flights will be the ones who have to address such challenges. Passengers who charter a flight only have to concern themselves with any flight’s end cost.

They’re simply quoted a price and can either agree to it or renegotiate it based on their own financial standing. That makes dealing with any regulatory changes much easier than it would be if they purchased their own conveyance method. Though there might be a few situations where owning a private jet is less expensive, most business professionals often won’t find themselves in them. Charters are generally more affordable, especially for anybody who won’t be flying daily or weekly.