Ownership 1.qxp_Finance 20/07/2021 11:09 Page 1
OWNERSHIP
The First-Time Buyers’ Guide to Jet Cards When might it make sense to step up from ad hoc charter? Could you use your buying power to get more flying time for your hard-earned dollars? David Wyndham discusses... ith the global COVID pandemic, a large number of first-time users have been introduced to the benefits of private aviation. For the infrequent or occasional user, it makes little sense to invest in a whole aircraft, but there are several other options. The following series will aim to cover all of the basics to enable you to make informed decisions over your ongoing use of Business Aviation. The common entry point to using private air travel is ad-hoc charter. An advantage of chartering is that you have access to many different types of aircraft with differing capabilities. Thus, charter users are not restricted to one type of aircraft as would be the case in other ownership scenarios. Ad hoc charter users do not enter into longterm contracts – only an agreement for the booked flight. According to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) there are over 2,100 FAA-licensed aircraft charter operators in the US, ranging from small single-engine piston aircraft operators to large turbine fleet operators.
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48 Vol 25 Issue 8 2021 AVBUYER MAGAZINE
When to Consider a Jet Card
As mentioned, charter works best for those requiring infrequent trips, or for several trips that are quite different in length and passenger loads, thus requiring aircraft with different capabilities. If, however, you find that your trips are similar in terms of distance and passenger load, and occur frequently, then a Jet Card or Membership Program could be a good option for you. For simplicity, we will use the term ‘Jet Card’, but the contents of this article applies to both. I have a client with one home on the US East coast, and another home on the West coast. He flies the trip between homes every other month, accounting for a total of 10 flight hours per round trip. At 60 annual flight hours, and with a predictable travel profile, my client is in a good position to consider using Jet Cards. Since my client uses a single charter operator, he can consider pre-purchasing charter hours in blocks of time, for a set price. This concept is called ‘Block Charter’. Ultimately, Jet Cards are pre-paid Block Charter arrangements, providing you with a www.AVBUYER.com
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