While it may seem more lavish for someone to own outright a private aircraft, a variety of challenges come with aircraft ownership. Thus, it can make significantly more sense for an individual to rent (or charter) a private jet for personal or professional use in many circumstances.

For those who use private jets, their critical advantage is often speed and efficiency compared to flying commercial. When it comes to chartering a private jet instead of maintaining ownership, much of the tediousness of the process is removed. A customer is simply flown as quickly as possible from one place to another. In this article, we'll explore five critical ways in which renting a private jet can be better than owning one.

1 Hiring both pilots and flight staff

Those who own private jets have several responsibilities related to the hiring of flight staff. Individuals who own aircraft are responsible for hiring not just pilots but also cabin crew.

A business jet flying in the sky.
Photo: Markus Mainka/Shutterstock

When hiring staff, jet owners have the opportunity to either hire pilots and crew on a flight-by-flight basis, which can be inefficient, or hire permanent salaried flight attendants and cockpit staff, which can prove very expensive..

2 Catering

One great advantage of renting a private jet is that catering is entirely taken care of by the lessor or company from which the plane is rented. Companies that rent aircraft will handle catering on their end, providing the customer who rents the jet with their choice of delicious food and beverage. Not only does it offer peace of mind knowing the customer is not responsible for figuring out their own catering services, even special requests, such as a customer wanting Chick-fil-A, can be accommodated by such operators.

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3 Jet maintenance

A significant disadvantage of private jet ownership is the requirement for the individual to take charge of maintenance services for their jet. Not only can planning and providing maintenance prove time-consuming, but it can also prove rather costly through the hiring of technicians and other specialists.

A Private Jet taxiing to the runway.
Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock

However, maintenance is not the customer's responsibility when chartering a private jet, as the company the aircraft is rented from will handle all maintenance issues and costs on their end.

4 Cabin cleaning

Another strong advantage of renting a jet instead owning one is that all cabin cleaning is handled by the company rather than the individual. Furthermore, the company will take care of interior cabin upgrades that customers can enjoy simply by chartering the right aircraft.

A Business Jet flying in the sky.
Photo: InsectWorld | Shutterstock

If a passenger, however, owned the aircraft themselves, they would be required to handle all cabin cleaning and bathroom maintenance entirely on their own, which could prove very costly and time-consuming.

5 Insurance

Aircraft insurance is another significant cost that private jet owners incur and is a substantial expense that must be paid by an aircraft owner regularly. Specifically, insurance costs are required regardless of how often owners use their private aircraft. However, if one does not own their aircraft and instead charters it, the company pays these costs. Furthermore, the owner is not responsible for managing policy changes or communications with an insurance company.