Everyone wants their freedom. For instance, everybody wants the convenience of being able to travel wherever they want, and whenever they want to.
According to the Guardian, this is what is currently being enjoyed by 4600 private jet owners in the United Kingdom, with Embraer Phenom 300, Cessna Citation XL5+, and Dassault Falcon 900LX being the most popular jets. Owning a private jet not only eliminates the limitation of travelling freely to roads only but as well comes with a great sense of freedom and independence.
Some of the advantages of owning a private jet includes:
You can land right at your destination: In the United Kingdom alone, there are more than 300 landing places available for private aircrafts as compared to only slightly more than 40 airports for commercial planes, and hence, a private jet will get you closer to your destination.
You can get where most people cannot: 96 percent of city points are available for private jets since they usually have less or no scheduled commercial flights, hence you can get to three cities in a day in Europe and land you're your home in the evening for dinner with the family.
Added flexibility: no more travel problems associated with commercial travels, you get to decide your own flying time, and make short-notice changes at will.
These many advantages make owning a private jet a worthy consideration.
But wait, despite the great convenience, owning a private jet is an expensive undertaking.
Depending on size and the accompanying fittings, a private jet pricing will set you back 3 to 90 million Sterling Pounds. For instance, consider one of the cheapest jets, the Cirrus Vision jet that will cost you £8.3 million, and the latest Airbus ACJ Neo range jets that will set you back between £65 to £70 million, or the Boeing BBJ Max 7, that costs a whooping £76.5 million.
Other costs for storage, insurance, crew salaries, and for maintenance and regular inspections will come into play too. Therefore, you need to do serious research and calculations before settling on the type of airplane you need to buy. This complete guide to buying a private jet comes in handy for such an undertaking.
Checklist before you take to the skies
What do you really need?
There are hundreds of aircraft models and types on the market today, but not all will meet your travel needs satisfactorily. Take some time to do a soul-search and put down on paper what your actual travel needs are. How long are your frequent trips? To mostly which destinations? How many people usually accompany you on those trips? Answers to such questions will help you decide whether to buy a new or a used aircraft, a short or a long-range jet, and how big the plane you need should be.
Financing:
You already have a strict budget on paper after you have decided what kind of plane will serve you well. Now, time to get your finances ready before you contact a seller. Make sure you have prepared financially so that the process moves swiftly and fast.
Put those emotions and social pressures on hold:
Buying a private jet involves big spending, and where such sums of money are involved, emotions tend to get into play more than they are needed. Put them on check to avoid buying a plane that will not serve you well. Don't let social pressure get into play.
Have an exit strategy:
Before buying that jet that really excites you, think about the future. How long are you planning to hold on to that plane before selling it? For instance, you may decide to buy a bigger jet now that can accommodate your big family when going for vacation, but will you still need it when the children are all grown and moved out? Consider also the real cost of doing upgrades to a plane and how it will affect its future prices and suitability. Let the upgrade advantages be backed by statistics. For instance, an upgrade that saves the pilot workload for about five minutes will not be worth the thousands of pounds needed to do it. And an upgrade that reduces the capacity of a jet will affect its future resale since buyers consider planes that carry more people.
Then which private jet do you settle for?
New or used: It all depends on your budget and your travelling needs. A new jet will possibly have the advantage of low maintenance cost, easier financing and a lower interest, but will of course be more expensive than a used one.
Is bigger always better? Bigger planes are costlier to buy as well as to maintain. Cost aside, does it serve your needs up to 90 percent, then go for it.
Where are you intending to use the private jet frequently: consider the size of the runways you will be using mostly. For instance, small airports need smaller planes like a Citation X15+, while bigger airports will accommodate long range jets comfortably.
Business vs individual use: There are tax reliefs for new planes bought for business use as compared to those bought for individual use. Talk to your tax agent to help you decide.
What about a talk with other airplane owners: the best way to learn about the performance of an airplane as well as its maintenance cost is through a person who owns and uses one. There are many private jet owners' associations that you can contact and get more information on your preferred jet before you go ahead and buy it.
Again, put your emotions on hold: while doing shopping for a jet of your choice, do not easily fall in love so fast with those you get to see first. Get to see more and decide once you have seen enough based on their costs and ability to meet your needs.
Information is power, and this complete guide to buying a private jet equips you with enough to help you shop around for the best jet suiting your needs. Contact a reputable broker to get that purchase process started right away and start enjoying the flexibility and freedom of a private jet.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
