Advantages of Leasing a Jet Versus Buying One

There’s an old saying that goes, “If it flies or sails, rent it.” You definitely can see how this would be true in the case of a private jet. Many people prefer to simply buy their private jet outright. However, unless you are tremendously wealthy, this option may not be for you. If you find yourself in the middle-where you don’t want to deal with all of the hassles of public flying but also don’t want to deal with the extreme drawbacks of owning your large aircraft-then you should look into renting your private jet. Here are some advantages to that option:

Unlike chartering a private jet, once you own one it can be very expensive to keep.

This is one of the most severe downfalls to owning a jet. Although it would come off as a serious status symbol, a privately-owned jet could quickly become a serious money pit. For one thing, to own a private jet, you will have to hire a full-time personal pilot and a flight attendant. You will have to pay them full-time wages even if you don’t use the plane that much. Moreover, it can be very expensive to maintain a jet as well. By some accounts, it can cost upwards of one million per year simply to keep your jet running in top shape.

Selling your private jet can be a real challenge.

You may think, “Well, if I can’t afford my private jet plane anymore, I’ll just sell it.” Easier said than done. First of all, it can be a huge challenge to even advertise the sale of your jet. Many people get around this by hiring a broker to help sell their jet. However, you can’t just hire anyone. It needs to be someone highly professional and highly experienced, so you probably should ask for references. Again, a big hassle to say the least.

With leasing, you get all of the benefits of using a private jet without the tremendous financial responsibilities that go with ownership.

If you do the math and the numbers simply don’t add up for you to own your private jet completely outright, don’t fret. Perhaps one of the best advantages of leasing a private jet instead of owning it is would be that you still get most of the benefits of private jet ownership, but you can walk away from the jet at the end of your lease. For example, you can either dry-lease or wet-lease the jet. Dry-leasing means you will simply lease the aircraft without the hassle of pilots, cabin crew, attendants, or any type of insurance or maintenance costs. This type of lease usually is contracted out for a longer time frame. There is also wet-leasing, which will give the lessor these same privileges but for a shorter period.

Either way, you can see the advantages of leasing instead of purchasing an aircraft. It is absolutely a much cheaper option than buying the aircraft outright!

Evan Shaner