Struggling to get your jet business off the ground?
The jet charter industry pulls in $25 billion a year in the US. If you want to use your aviation knowledge or your capital to get in on that action, then you’ll need to start a private jet charter business. But that’s not exactly an everyday activity, so you’ll want some pointers.
Below, we’re taking a look at how to get your private jet charter business to take off.
Figure Out Your Niche
As in any business, your niche is key. A niche puts a natural limit on your operations, in a good way. By focusing down, you can specialize and avoid the pitfalls of overspending on diversification. You’ll also have a clearer picture of your target market.
In the jet charter business, your niche could be as specific as corporate jet rental for a handful of companies that fly from a specific location. Broader niches include sightseeing or goods transportation.
Attract Investors
The jet charter business is hardly a low-outlay startup. To tackle the overheads involved in buying and maintaining a fleet of aircraft and their pilots, you’ll almost certainly need financial backing.
Attracting investors is the most surefire way to do that. To capture investor interest, you’ll need a clear business plan, a strong idea of your brand identity, and ideas about your future growth.
This will be the first real test for your business. Your business idea could live or die by how successful you are at attracting investors. You’ll need to work hard to distinguish yourself from your competitors and make a case for what you do differently.
Understand Part 135 & FSAA Approval
Naturally, you can’t start a private jet business on the basis of you owning a few planes. There are rules and regulations to limit who can run any kind of air taxi service.
The key regulation you need to focus on is Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. This covers commercial aircraft operations. The contents are exhaustive and include the requirements a pilot must make before they can fly aircraft in a commercial capacity.
Part 135 is stringent, so you’ll need to go through it with a fine-tooth comb if you want to avoid liability issues later.
Complete Your Application
You’ll also need FSAA approval to run commercial flights. This can take a long while to come through and is another exhaustive test for your business. Each individual jet also needs FSAA approval before you can run it for commercial flights.
The guide to completing your application with the FSAA could be an article in itself. The FSAA will go through your business in detail, picking apart your competencies to ensure your business can cover every aviation eventuality.
Your Private Jet Charter Business: Ready for Takeoff
With these pre-flights out of the way, your private jet charter business is cleared for takeoff. With some luck, you’ll have blue skies and fair weather if you’ve followed this checklist.
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