What is Aircraft Management?
Aircraft management is a service that takes the burden of day-to-day aircraft operations off the shoulders of airplane owners. This service covers a broad range of activities, including the administration of maintenance, crew management, regulatory compliance, and flight planning.
Why you need Aircraft Management for your corporate aircraft
Aviation is a highly regulated industry. This in itself is a good thing, as it is the reason why aviation has such a high safety record. But it also means that owning an aircraft comes with a set of responsibilities that can quickly become overwhelming.
Regardless of what airplane you buy, there will always be the need for some type of management of the aircraft. For smaller propeller aircraft, this can often be managed by the owner themselves. But as the complexity of the aircraft increases, so does the regulatory requirements.
Aircraft management is a vital service for corporate aircraft owners as it removes the burden of setting up your own flight department. Aircraft management ensures that all regulatroty and operational aspects of owning a plane are handled professionally, so that you only need to worry about where you need to be and when.
What does Aircraft Management cover?
It can vary depending on your needs and mission. But here are some common aspects usually taken care of by a company offering aircraft management.
- Appointment of safety organization
- Writing and updating manuals and SOPs
- Crew and resource management
- Crew training
- Coordination of aircraft maintenance
- Flight planning
- Negotiating insurance, hangar space and fees
With the right aircraft management company, your aircraft will be there when you need it. Offering value, flexibility and time savings.
Considerations and alternatives
The first alternative to employing a aircraft management service is managing it yourself. Either by the owner directly or through an in-house team. While this can offer more hands-on control, it requires a deep understanding of aviation logistics and regulations. There might be cost savings doing it this way, but that would depend on who you hire as poor management leads to more downtime of the aircraft. For many, it simply doesn’t make sense to set up a deparment inhouse to handle something that is far from your core business.
Another options to consider is to not buy or lease the aircraft at all. If you fly less than 50 hours a year you are usually better of chartering.