Aircraft Management

Aircraft management companies

Aircraft management companies run a private or corporate aircraft on behalf of its owner. A typical contract covers hiring and training crew, planning and overseeing maintenance, arranging insurance, hangarage and fuel, flight planning, and monthly cost reporting. Many managers also hold an air operator certificate (AOC), so the owner can choose to place the aircraft on charter and offset some of the running costs.

When comparing managers, ask whether they hold an AOC and which aircraft types they already operate, how charter revenue and costs are split, and how fees are charged. Independent safety audits such as IS-BAO, ARGUS or Wyvern are a useful sign of how well an operator runs its flights.

There are 106 aircraft management companies listed. Countries with the most listings include the United Kingdom (10), Germany (7), Saudi Arabia (5), Austria (3), France (3) and South Africa (3). They include:

• Flexjet, offering jet ownership programmes and private travel
• ACASS, covering aircraft sales and acquisitions, aircraft management and flight crew staffing
• Action Aviation, a business aircraft sales, management and charter company since 2004
• Aeromanagement Group, established in 1983
• AeroStellar, providing flight operations and aircraft management services
• Aerocom Aviation, an EASA-approved air operator in Finland

Owners often use the same company for aircraft charter and aircraft sales and acquisitions, and contract out aircraft maintenance. Our guide to the best private jet management companies explains what management contracts include.