Buying a Private Jet for Family Travel

For a family, a quiet cabin, a lavatory and a hold for suitcases, buggies and gear matter. For short legs (up to 3 hours) light jets work; for a 4–8-hour holiday, midsize and large jets with hot meals and a flight attendant. The class is matched to the number of family members, the distance to the resort and the baggage volume. Send us a request — we'll prepare options, calculate running costs and analyse the best fit for your task.

Children fly from birth with no surcharge; child seats and bassinets are provided on request. Pets travel in the cabin without a crate or weight limits, subject to a pet passport, microchip and destination-country documents. Hot meals are available on midsize aircraft and above, a flight attendant from super-midsize. Baggage is generous, with no strict hand-luggage limits. Send us a request — we'll prepare options, calculate running costs and analyse the best fit for your task.

The price comes from the aircraft class, route length and number of passengers. A charter guide: light jet from $3,000/hour, midsize from $4,500, large from $8,000. For a family of 4–6, a midsize jet is usually optimal: a stand-up cabin, a galley and up to 5–6 hours nonstop. Send us a request — we'll prepare options, calculate running costs and analyse the best fit for your task.

The family choice is a midsize jet: for example the Citation Latitude (pre-owned ~$15M, running ~$2.35M/year at 400 h) or the light Phenom 300E (~$11.8M). For overseas holidays, the large Challenger 650. We cost the purchase, running costs and hourly cost against your real hours. Send us a request — we'll prepare options, calculate running costs and analyse the best fit for your task.

The standard path takes 6–10 weeks. Step 1: a letter of intent (LOI) with price and terms — 3–5 days. Step 2: a 5–10% deposit into escrow and signing of the purchase agreement. Step 3: a pre-purchase inspection — 1–3 weeks. Step 4: rectification of findings and price adjustment. Step 5: closing — simultaneous transfer of funds, title and risk, technical acceptance and ferry of the aircraft.

A pre-purchase inspection (PPI) is an independent check at a certified centre: airframe, engines, corrosion, records and compliance with airworthiness directives. It takes from 3 days on a turboprop to 2–3 weeks on a heavy jet and costs $15–100K — paid by the buyer. By market practice the seller pays to rectify airworthiness-affecting defects. A seller refusing a PPI is grounds to walk away.

The import budget depends on jurisdiction. In the EU the main items are any customs duty (most business-jet codes carry reduced or zero rates) and import VAT, which varies by country of entry (for example 19–22% in much of Europe). Registration in Aruba, San Marino or the Isle of Man under operation outside the EU allows a temporary-admission regime. We produce an exact calculation before the LOI is signed — an error here costs millions.

After purchase the aircraft must be entered into service: choose a registry (Aruba, San Marino, Isle of Man or a national one), sign a management and maintenance contract with an operator, enrol the engines on a programme (ESP/JSSI), arrange insurance, hangar and crew, and plan the first maintenance. We support all of these steps. Send us a request — we'll prepare options, calculate running costs and analyse the best fit for your task.

Before a deal we check: title and absence of liens or leases (a registry title search), the full maintenance history and airworthiness-directive records, the status of heavy maintenance checks and engine time remaining, any incident involvement, and compliance with export rules. We organise this review and an independent pre-purchase inspection before any funds move. Send us a request — we'll prepare options, calculate running costs and analyse the best fit for your task.

Running costs depend on utilisation and aircraft class. Budget for fixed and variable items:

- Crew and support staff;
- Fuel and navigation charges;
- Maintenance and insurance;
- Hangar storage and airport fees;
- Management company fee.

A light jet flying 200 hours a year typically costs from USD 700,000 annually; a long-range aircraft on the same utilisation runs into several million. We prepare a cost-of-ownership calculation for the specific aircraft before you commit, so the budget holds no surprises.