Business AviationOwning vs Chartering a Private Jet: Jet Card, Fractional or Charter?
Private jet charter vs ownership, jet card vs fractional ownership: which costs less for the hours you fly, and when owning is worth it.
The cheapest way to fly private depends on how you fly. Someone flying 40 hours a year on varied trips and someone flying 400 hours between the same two cities get very different answers.
You can choose between full ownership, fractional ownership, jet cards and on-demand charter. The table compares their cost, flexibility and commitment.
In This Article
1. The Four Ways to Fly Private
With full ownership you own the aircraft outright, often through a company, and pay every cost. With fractional ownership you buy a share, such as one-sixteenth or one-eighth, of an aircraft in a managed fleet and receive a set number of hours a year. With a jet card you prepay or commit to flight time at fixed hourly rates. With on-demand charter you pay per trip and choose the aircraft each time.
| Ownership | Fractional | Jet card | On-demand charter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up-front commitment | Full purchase price | Share price plus fees | Deposit, often $100k+ | None |
| Monthly fixed fees | High (crew, hangar...) | Yes, management fee | No | No |
| Cost per hour | Lowest above ~300 h | Medium | Medium to high | Market rate per trip |
| Aircraft choice | Your aircraft | Fleet types | Card category | Any aircraft, every trip |
| Availability | Whenever it is serviceable | Guaranteed with notice | Guaranteed with notice | Depends on the market |
| Best for | 250 to 300+ h a year | 50 to 200 h a year | 25 to 100 h a year | Up to ~100 h, or varied trips |
*Typical patterns; programs and contracts vary a great deal between providers.
2. When Ownership Makes Sense
Owning pays off when you fly about 250 to 300 hours a year or more and want control: your own crew, your own cabin, the aircraft ready at short notice and the same tail number each time. At that level you spread the fixed costs over enough hours to beat any provider's hourly price.
You also carry the risks: depreciation, maintenance downtime, crew management and the sale when you are done. Our ownership cost guide sets out the numbers.
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