Aircraft management means entrusting the complete operation of your aircraft to a specialised company: crew, maintenance, regulatory compliance, flight planning and administration. The owner retains full ownership of the aircraft and decides how it is used; the manager takes on the operational day-to-day and the technical responsibility. It is today the most widespread form of ownership in business aviation, because it reconciles the owner\u2019s freedom with the safety standards of a professional operation.<\/p>\n\n
Owning a business aircraft means owning a small airline single-handedly. A modern long-range aircraft requires qualified and trained pilots, permanent maintenance monitoring, regulatory watch, insurance, flight planning, fuel management, charges and ground handling. Each of these areas is a profession in itself.<\/p>\n
Aircraft management brings all these professions together under a single contract. The management company becomes the operator of the aircraft: it recruits and employs the crew, organises recurrent pilot training, monitors airworthiness, plans every flight, and handles authorisations, insurance and the aircraft\u2019s accounts. The owner, for his part, has only one point of contact, and his aircraft is ready to fly whenever he needs it.<\/p>\n
Aircraft management should be distinguished from two neighbouring notions.charter service<\/a> is the hire of a one-off flight aboard an aircraft operated by a third party: you are a passenger, not an owner. Co-ownership or fractional ownership share an aircraft between several holders. Management, by contrast, addresses the sole owner who wants to keep his aircraft without carrying the operational burden.<\/p>\n\n The first reason is safety. A professional operator applies airline standards to the aircraft: written procedures, regular crew training, documented airworthiness monitoring, audits. That framework goes beyond what an individual owner can reasonably put in place alone.<\/p>\n The second is administrative peace of mind. Business aviation is one of the most regulated sectors there is. Between the requirements of theSwiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA)<\/a> in Switzerland, those of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the rules specific to each country overflown, compliance is a full-time job. The manager takes it on, and answers for it.<\/p>\n The third is economic. A manager pools what an owner alone pays at full price: negotiated terms on fuel, insurance and charges, staff shared between several aircraft, experience of real costs that avoids unpleasant surprises. And when the owner wishes, the aircraft can be offered for charter during its idle periods, turning a cost centre into a partial source of revenue.<\/p>\n The last reason is resale value. An aircraft operated professionally, with every flight hour and every intervention documented to the rules, sells better and faster. The technical file is part of the price.<\/p>\n\n A management contract usually covers four areas.<\/p>\n The crew:<\/strong> recruitment, contracts, rostering, recurrent simulator training, medical examinations, training in the operator\u2019s procedures. The pilots fly for the owner, within the operator\u2019s framework.<\/p>\n The technical side:<\/strong> continuing airworthiness monitoring, planning of maintenance visits, handling of airworthiness directives, relations with the workshops, documentation management. It is the invisible part of the craft, and the most decisive for safety as for the value of the aircraft. We devote a complete guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Operations:<\/strong> preparation of every flight, weather, flight plans, overflight and landing permits, ground handling, round-the-clock operational cover. A flight request is handled in hours, not days.<\/p>\n Administration:<\/strong> annual budget, cost accounting for the aircraft, insurance, transparent re-invoicing of costs, regular reporting to the owner. The owner knows, at any moment, what his aircraft is flying and what it costs.<\/p>\n\n The Air Operator Certificate (AOC) is the licence that authorises a company to operate aircraft commercially. In Switzerland it is issued and supervised by FOCA. Holding an AOC requires a safety management system, approved operations manuals, checked crews and regular audits.<\/p>\n For an owner, entrusting an aircraft to an operator holding an AOC changes two things. First, the level of requirement: the aircraft is operated to commercial transport standards, the strictest in the sector, even for the owner\u2019s private flights. Second, the possibilities: only an aircraft listed on an AOC can be offered for commercial charter. Without an AOC, no rental value. It also allows exemption from VAT on importation, as well as on the main operating expenses, notably those linked to fuel, which is one of the largest cost items.<\/p>\n It is a trust criterion that is simple to verify: the authorities publish the list of AOC holders. An owner comparing managers should always start there.<\/p>\n\n Costs fall into two families. Fixed costs exist whether the aircraft flies or not: crew salaries and charges, hangarage, insurance, navigation and weather subscriptions, management fees. Variable costs follow activity: fuel, route and landing charges, ground handling, maintenance linked to flight hours, catering on board.<\/p>\n The healthiest billing model is one of transparency: clearly identified management fees, and re-invoicing of costs at actual value, with supporting documents, without hidden margin. Any charter revenue is deducted. A good manager provides a forecast annual budget, then monthly reporting that compares against it line by line. The amounts depend on the aircraft type, its utilisation programme and its base.<\/p>\n\n A few questions sort things out quickly. Does the operator hold an AOC, and for how long? Does it know your aircraft type precisely, and does its technical team follow other examples of it? Is continuing airworthiness handled in-house or subcontracted? Is the billing model transparent, with re-invoicing at actual value? Who will be your point of contact, and how many aircraft do they manage?<\/p>\n Specialisation counts for more than size. A manager who knows one aircraft family intimately \u2014 its typical faults, its workshop network and its real costs \u2014 protects your aircraft better than a generalist structure, however large. That is the choice we made at Dasnair: a single family, the Dassault Falcon<\/a>, operated and maintained since 2001 under Swiss certificate, through our aircraft management service<\/a>.<\/p>\n\nWhy do owners entrust their aircraft?<\/h2>\n
What does the manager actually do day to day?<\/h2>\n
What does operating under an AOC bring?<\/h2>\n
How are costs kept under control?<\/h2>\n
How do you choose a management company?<\/h2>\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n