Your Options For Buying a Private Jet

Travelling by air in a private jet is the ultimate in luxury. You can arrive much nearer to your destination as there are thousands of smaller airports for a small aircraft to land as opposed to hundreds for a commercial aircraft. You won't have to join long queues in airport terminals, your luggage won't get lost and it's safer as there is very little risk from terrorist attacks plus many private jet pilots spend more hours in flight simulators than commercial pilots.

You can buy a private jet for under a million dollars, but the price can go up into millions of dollars for a top of the range luxury private jet. Most people cannot imagine having that kind of money to spend as they are used to dealing with much smaller amounts. For example for the average person a house or a car is the biggest purchase that they will ever make.

It is possible however to purchase part of a private jet which is known as fractional jet ownership. It's a bit like buying a timeshare apartment. You buy a fractional share of the aircraft which determines how many hours you can use it for in a year. For example you can buy a 16th of a share in Citation Ultra for $80,000 and this gives you approximately 50 hours flying time.

A private jet card makes private jet travel more affordable and buys you flight time. Prices can start from $43,900 for 10 hours with Delta AirElite and just 12 hours notice is required for aircraft availability. Unlike fractional jet ownership you don't own a share of a jet but instead have a prepaid card similar to a phone card. Once you have exhausted your flight time on the card you simply buy a new one. You only pay for the time the private jet is in the air and not for the pre flight preparation.

There are several types of private jet card available. The fractional card gives you the same aircraft and flight crew, just like having fractional ownership. A charter card gives you access to a fleet of jets and you probably won't get the same flight crew..

If you decide that you want to purchase a private jet then the first thing you need to consider is how much flying time will you be doing. If you fly more than 350 to 400 hours a year then that justifies the expense of full ownership of a private jet.

Apart from the cost of purchasing the jet you must also consider other expenses such as fuel, insurance, flight crew and catering.
Expect to pay anything from just over a million dollars to about 50 million dollars for a new private jet.

How many passengers will you be taking with you onboard your private jet. This will determine the size of aircraft you will need. A small light jet can usually carry up to 8 passengers whereas a large executive jet may carry up to 12 passengers. You may want a jet with plenty of space to work or just relax in.

It's essential to do plenty of research online into the different private jet dealers and compare prices and safety records. You can buy used jets and It's also possible to buy repossessed jets at a huge discount.