Aircraft management means hiring an operator to handle the work of owning an airplane: crews, scheduling, maintenance tracking, and regulatory paperwork. When the operator also holds a Part 135 certificate, aircraft management can include chartering your aircraft to other customers when you aren’t using it. You keep a share of that revenue, and it offsets the fixed costs you pay whether the airplane flies or not.
That second arrangement is often called a leaseback, although at Choice Aviation it isn’t a lease. You keep title to the aircraft, you keep first call on the schedule, and Choice operates it under its Part 135 certificate when you don’t need it. This guide covers how aircraft management works, what you give up and what you keep, what it costs, and how to tell whether your aircraft is a good fit.
Aircraft Management at a Glance
- What it is: an operator handles the operational side of ownership, and on a Part 135 certificate can charter your aircraft when you aren’t flying it.
- What you keep: title, first call on the schedule, blackout dates, and decisions about interior, paint, and avionics.
- What the operator handles: crews, dispatch, charter sales, maintenance tracking, the Part 135 inspection program, and billing.
- Why owners do it: charter revenue offsets hangar, insurance, engine reserves, and other fixed costs.
- Best fit: turbine aircraft in current condition, on an engine program, with modern avionics, flown by the owner under roughly 250 hours a year.
- What it costs:
Table of Contents
What Is Aircraft Management?
Aircraft management is a service agreement between an aircraft owner and a professional operator. The owner keeps the airplane. The management company takes over the day-to-day work that comes with it.
There are two broad types. In a private aircraft management arrangement, the aircraft flies only for the owner under Part 91, and the operator supplies crews, maintenance oversight, and administration. In a revenue-generating arrangement, the aircraft is also added to the operator’s Part 135 certificate, so the operator can sell charter flights on it when the owner doesn’t need it.
Choice’s revenue-generating aircraft ownership program is the second type. It is the same model owners are searching for when they look up “aircraft leaseback” or “putting my plane on a charter certificate.”
Aircraft Management vs. Leaseback
“Leaseback” is a loose term. In a true leaseback, the owner leases the aircraft to an operator, who then uses it for charter. That creates a lease contract with its own rules. For example, 14 CFR 91.23 requires a truth-in-leasing clause in leases of U.S.-registered large civil aircraft.
Choice’s program is structured differently. It is not a syndicate, fractional ownership, or a lease. You own the aircraft outright throughout, Choice places it on its Part 135 certificate, and you share in the revenue it earns. Whatever name you use, ask any operator to show you exactly how the agreement is structured and who holds operational control of each flight.
Aircraft Management vs. Fractional Ownership and Jet Cards
Owners comparing options often run into two other models. In fractional ownership, you buy a share of an aircraft along with other owners, and a program manager operates the fleet under Part 91 Subpart K. You own part of an airplane and get a set number of hours a year. With a jet card, you prepay for charter hours and own nothing.
Aircraft management is different from both. You own the whole aircraft, it is configured the way you want, and nobody else’s schedule comes ahead of yours. Revenue-generating aircraft management adds charter income to that ownership. It suits owners who want their own airplane but fly it far less than the hours in a year.
Why Owners Put Aircraft on a Part 135 Certificate
The case for revenue-generating aircraft management comes down to how little most private aircraft fly.
A year has 8,760 hours. Many owners fly their aircraft about 200 of them. The fixed costs keep running the rest of the time: hangar rent, insurance, database subscriptions, engine reserves, and recurrent training for your pilot. Those bills don’t pause while the airplane sits.
When the aircraft is on a Part 135 certificate, the operator can sell charter flights on it during those idle hours. The owner takes a share of what the aircraft earns, and that income goes against the fixed costs. How far it goes depends on the airframe, the charter demand for that type, and how much the owner flies it. That is why a written estimate for your specific aircraft matters more than any general rule.
There is a second benefit owners often notice later. An aircraft operated under Part 135 is held to a stricter maintenance standard than one flown privately, so it tends to be better looked after.
How Aircraft Management Works at Choice
Choice’s aircraft management program runs in four steps. The first two cost you nothing.
1. Tell Us About the Aircraft
Send the type, year, total hours, engine program, avionics, where it’s based, and roughly how much you fly it yourself. That is enough to judge whether the aircraft is a realistic charter candidate.
2. We Run the Numbers
Choice prepares a written estimate of realistic charter demand for your airframe in this market, the revenue split, and what the arrangement does to your annual cost of ownership. The analysis is free and carries no obligation.
3. Conformity and Onboarding
If the numbers work, Choice brings the aircraft onto its certificate. That includes an inspection, any conformity work needed to meet Part 135 requirements, insurance, and paperwork. Choice tells you what that costs before you commit.
4. It Starts Earning
The aircraft goes into charter rotation around your schedule. You receive a monthly statement showing hours flown, revenue earned, and maintenance work carried out, and you have a phone number that a person answers.
What You Keep and What the Operator Handles
Handing an aircraft to an operator can sound like giving up control. In a well-run aircraft management program, the ownership decisions stay with you and the operational work moves to the operator.
| Stays with the owner | Handled by Choice |
|---|---|
| Title to the aircraft, throughout | Crew sourcing, training currency, and duty tracking |
| First call on the schedule and your blackout dates | Charter sales, quoting, and dispatch |
| Interior, paint, avionics, and upgrade decisions | Part 135 inspection program and maintenance tracking |
| Whether a given charter request is accepted | Flight risk assessment on every leg |
| The decision to end the arrangement, on notice | Billing, revenue reporting, and regulatory paperwork |
| Your relationship with your own insurer and lender | Hangar and ground handling coordination |
Who Has Operational Control?
This is the most important legal question in any aircraft management agreement. Under 14 CFR 135.77, the certificate holder is responsible for operational control of its Part 135 flights. That means the operator decides who flies, whether a flight goes, and how it is conducted.
For owner trips, the arrangement should state clearly which rules apply and who has operational control.
What Part 135 Changes for Your Aircraft
Putting an aircraft on a charter certificate brings it under a stricter set of rules. Owners should understand the trade.
Maintenance
Privately flown aircraft follow the inspection rules in 14 CFR 91.409. On a Part 135 certificate, more applies. For aircraft with nine or fewer passenger seats, 14 CFR 135.421 requires the operator to follow the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance programs, or an FAA-approved program, for engines, propellers, rotors, and required emergency equipment.
At Choice, that work happens in its own maintenance shop, the same shop that maintains Choice’s own fleet. You know who signed off your airplane.
Crews
Part 135 pilots must meet higher qualification and recurrent checking standards than a privately employed pilot flying under Part 91. Choice crews fly with sim-based recurrent training, and Choice runs a flight risk assessment on every leg.
Safety Programs and Paperwork
A Part 135 operator carries obligations a private owner doesn’t, including a drug and alcohol testing program under 14 CFR Part 120, an FAA-accepted manual, and records for every flight and maintenance action. In an aircraft management arrangement, that work belongs to the operator.
What Does Aircraft Management Cost?
Aircraft management costs come in a few layers, and owners should see every one of them before signing:
- Management fee: a fixed monthly fee some operators charge for the administrative and operational work.
- Revenue split: the share of charter revenue the owner receives versus the operator.
- Direct operating costs: fuel, crew, maintenance, and fees for each flight. Ask how these are allocated between owner flights and charter flights.
- Fixed costs: hangar, insurance, engine reserves, database subscriptions, and training. These continue whether or not the aircraft flies.
- Onboarding: the conformity inspection and any work needed to meet Part 135 standards.
Choice puts the revenue split and the effect on your annual cost of ownership in the written analysis, so you see the full picture before deciding.
Is Aircraft Leaseback Profitable?
Owners ask this often, and the honest answer is that it depends. The goal of revenue-generating aircraft management is to offset ownership costs. For some aircraft, charter revenue covers a large share of fixed cost. For others, demand for the type is too thin to make a meaningful difference. Choice’s written estimate is built for this question: it shows realistic demand for your airframe, the revenue split, and the net effect on what you spend each year. Talk to your own tax advisor about how charter income and expenses affect your situation.
Is Your Aircraft a Good Fit for Aircraft Management?
Revenue-generating aircraft management doesn’t work for every aircraft. Choice uses a simple test and will tell you on the first call if your aircraft falls outside it.
Works well: turbine aircraft in current condition, on an engine program, with modern avionics and a clean maintenance history. Owners who fly under roughly 250 hours a year.
Depends: older airframes, aircraft that need conformity work, or types with thinner charter demand in the region. It is worth running the numbers, but the answer isn’t obvious.
Probably not: aircraft you already fly most weeks, aircraft that would need significant work to reach charter standard, or a type with no realistic charter demand out of the Rockies.
Location matters less than many owners assume. Charter aircraft reposition to where the customer is. Choice’s own Citation CJ3 repositions to the customer’s departure city for trips such as Denver to Scottsdale or Seattle to Salt Lake City, well beyond its home fields in Cody, Wyoming, and Hamilton, Montana.
How to Choose an Aircraft Management Company
Every aircraft management company will say it takes good care of your airplane. These questions separate the ones that can show it:
- Do you hold your own Part 135 certificate? An operator with its own certificate controls the crews, the maintenance program, and the charter sales. Choice operates on its own Part 135 certificate.
- Who maintains the aircraft? Ask whether maintenance is done in-house or sent out, and how you will see the records. Choice maintains aircraft in its own shop.
- What safety audits do you hold? Third-party audits give you an outside view of an operator. Choice is an ARGUS Gold rated operator and an NBAA member.
- How do you protect the owner’s schedule? Get first call and blackout dates in writing.
- What will the statement show? You should see hours flown, revenue, and maintenance every month.
- How do I leave? Know the notice period and what happens to the aircraft and records when the agreement ends.
- Can you show me a written estimate for my aircraft? A credible operator will put realistic demand and the revenue split on paper before you commit.
Compare written answers side by side. The cheapest management fee isn’t worth much if the aircraft sits or comes back with deferred maintenance.
Aircraft Management FAQ
What is aircraft management?
Aircraft management is a service in which a professional operator handles the operational side of owning an aircraft: crews, scheduling, maintenance tracking, and regulatory paperwork. If the operator holds a Part 135 certificate, it can also charter the aircraft when the owner isn’t using it.
What does aircraft management include for private jet owners?
Typically crew sourcing and training currency, dispatch, maintenance tracking, insurance and hangar coordination, billing, and regulatory paperwork. In a revenue-generating program, it also includes charter sales and a share of the revenue for the owner.
How do aircraft management companies charge fees?
Most charge some combination of a monthly management fee, a share of charter revenue, and direct operating costs billed to the owner. Choice puts the revenue split and its effect on your annual cost in a written analysis before you commit.
Is aircraft leaseback profitable?
It depends on the aircraft, the charter demand for that type, and how much the owner flies it. For many owners, the goal is to offset fixed costs such as hangar, insurance, and engine reserves. A written estimate for your specific aircraft is the only reliable answer.
Do I still own my aircraft if it is on a Part 135 certificate?
Yes, in Choice’s program. You keep title throughout, along with first call on the schedule, your blackout dates, and decisions about interior, paint, and avionics. Choice operates the aircraft under its certificate when you don’t need it.
Can I still fly my aircraft whenever I want?
You keep first call on the schedule. You give Choice your blackout dates and typical patterns, and charter is scheduled around them.
What kinds of aircraft work for aircraft management?
Turbine aircraft in current condition, on an engine program, with modern avionics and a clean maintenance history are the strongest candidates. Older airframes, aircraft needing conformity work, or types with thin regional demand may or may not work.
How long does it take to put an aircraft on a Part 135 certificate?
It depends on the aircraft’s condition and the conformity work needed. Choice inspects the aircraft, completes any required work, and handles insurance and paperwork, and tells you the cost upfront.
Find Out What Your Aircraft Could Earn
If your aircraft sits most of the year, aircraft management on a Part 135 certificate may turn some of that idle time into revenue. The only way to know is to run the numbers for your airframe.
Send Choice the type, the year, and roughly how much you fly it. You’ll get a written estimate back with realistic charter demand, the revenue split, and what it does to your annual cost of ownership. There’s no cost and no obligation. Start with Choice’s revenue-generating aircraft ownership program, see the aircraft charter operation your aircraft would join, or look at the Choice fleet.
