 With today's active market for both new and preowned aircraft, there is an aircraft for every need and every budget. But where to start? The following information is provided in an effort to help you begin to start asking the right questions, as well as to help you become better acquainted with the process of selecting an aircraft, as well as selecting a form of aircraft ownership. For a more thorough look at the advantages and disadvantages of different types of ownership, check out our Ownership Considerations section.
First Steps - Understanding How You Travel
The first step to figuring out which type of aircraft is right for you is to determine your mission profile, which can be derived by answering the following questions:
- What city pairs do you typically fly?
- How often do you take trips?
- What is the average duration of the trips you take? (1 day return trip, 4 day multi-city trip, etc.)
- How many people do you typically need to travel with?
- What is your current and anticipated future financial situation?
- How valuable is your time when away from home?
- How much do you spend on travel each year?
Answering these basic questions will help to form a clear image of your needs, which will in turn determine what type of ownership works best for your particular situation, as well as the size of aircraft required to meet your typical needs.
Finding the Right Aircraft to Meet Your Budget
If you answered the previous questions, you should have at least a cursory understanding of your travel needs at this point. These answers will also help you to form a picture of what class of aircraft you may need. For instance, if you regularly travel with 3-4 other people a distance of over 1000 miles on a regular basis, and you need to make day trips, then a small to mid-size jet may be your best choice. However, if you make day or overnight trips to destinations only 200 miles away, a turboprop may be the answer.
On the face of it, aircraft appear to be expensive assets to both purchase and maintain. However, with a little research and analysis, you will find that, depending on your personal financial situation, there are a number of financing options that make purchasing such an asset an attractive possibility. Beyond financing costs, you should also consider the following:
- What is the cost of your time per hour?
- Are you in a financial situation that would benefit from a large annual tax deduction?
- Does your travel generate revenue, or is it for pleasure?
Putting It All Together
Once you've begun to form an idea of the aircraft type you'll need, the next step is to decide on a form of ownership that suits your particular needs. Click here to compare the different types of ownership side by side.
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