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the aircraft capable of achieving everything that you
want it to? Is there any major and therefore costly
maintenance due? What is the real impact of the
presence or lack of maintenance programs? Does the
heavy landing or bird strike last year have any impact
on the value?
Article by Tim Barber
All too often we find owners who have succumbed to
the charms of the seller’s agent and ultimately realised
they purchased the wrong aircraft. Often it’s because
the aircraft quite simply isn’t capable of doing what
they were told it could do – usually the combination
of passengers, payload and range. Sometimes it’s
because the cost of operating the aircraft is far beyond
their expectations? Others have been told that if they
put the aircraft out to charter, then they would “fly for
free” but this is the stuff of dreams more so than the
reality of business aviation.
AIRCRAFT PURCHASE
Thinking of buying an aircraft?
The merits of flying privately can’t be disputed – total
flexibility on flight timing (subject to security and Air
Traffic Control); access to many more airports (so you
get closer to your destination); improved personal
security; you choose the other passengers; no
queuing; huge baggage allowance; greater comfort;
swifter airport transition; it’s great for your ego and
so on but where do you start when you choose to buy
your first aircraft?
Like everything, you can type “Jets for sale” into
Google and immediately you’ll be confronted with an
overwhelming choice of portals offering you a fantastic
choice of aircraft. Perhaps the most important thing to
remember about a broker offering an aircraft for sale
is that they are representing the seller, not the buyer,
and there’s a reasonable chance that they know more
than you do about the aircraft, and its shortcomings,
as well as the market. So, if you approach one of
these brokers do you know the questions to ask? Is
The most efficient way of ensuring that you don’t get
caught out is to find a trustworthy advisor. There are
plenty of them out there but how do you find the right
one? With so many individuals purporting to be global
players in this market through a glitzy website, it’s
important to understand the scale of their business
and their credentials. Ask for references and don’t
forget to follow up by speaking to a couple of them
before making your decision.
Once you have established what aircraft you intend to
buy it’s important to understand the market dynamics.
How many are for sale? How long have they been
available? Is the inventory rising or falling? How many
sales have there been recent? What is the trend of the
values over the past couple of years and what is likely
to happen over the coming weeks? Once you know
all of this, you will understand just how aggressively
you should enter the market. There’s little point in
entering the market expecting to buy at $5m less
than is the current reality. Equally important is to
appreciate that the majority of sellers are not dealing
with a distressed asset, so be realistic.
Once you have appointed your advisor and identified
the aircraft type that you are going to buy and
shortlisted the key criteria for the aircraft search, what
happens next? You want your advisor, agent or broker
to search the globe for the right aircraft, not just
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