Aircraft Management 101

Everything You Need to Know in 2026 (and What Most Companies Won’t Tell You)

You bought the jet. Congratulations. Now the real question: who is going to run it?

Most owners quickly discover that flying the airplane is the easy part. The hard part is everything that happens when it’s on the ground.

Here is what full-service aircraft management actually does (day in, day out) and why the right partner saves you time, money, and headaches.

What We Handle — So You Never Have To

• Crew — hiring, payroll, scheduling, recurrent training, drug testing

  Typical hidden cost if you DIY: $180k–$350k per year + dozens of your own hours

• Maintenance — predictive monitoring, all inspections, unscheduled repairs, perfect logbooks

  Typical hidden cost: $400k+ for a single major event

• Hangar & insurance — best-rate hangar, hull & liability coverage, claims handling

  Typical hidden cost: $60k–$180k per year

• Regulatory & compliance — registration, international permits, FAA audits, Wyvern/IS-BAO

  Typical hidden cost: fines + grounding risk

• Detailing & readying — full interior/exterior showroom clean on agreed schedule

  Typical hidden cost: $2k–$5k every time

• Monthly invoicing — one clean, all-inclusive invoice, no mark-ups, no year-end surprises

  Typical hidden cost: hours of bookkeeping every month

• Catering & ground — tailor-made meals and planeside luxury transfers

  Typical hidden cost: last-minute chaos

• Resale & exit — market timing, pre-buy coordination

  Typical hidden cost: 8–20 % lower resale value

The Math Most Owners Discover Too Late

(typical midsize jet – Phenom 300 / CJ4 / Latitude class)

• Self-managed / “I’ll figure it out” → $1.1 M – $1.8 M per year + 40–60 hours of your time every month

• Large national manager → $1.0 M – $1.4 M per year + mark-ups and year-end surprises

• Boutique partner like NEXT → $850k – $1.1 M per year — fixed, transparent, personal

Yes — the right boutique manager is almost always more affordable than the big names and dramatically cheaper than doing it yourself.

How NEXT Aviation 360° Management Saves You Time and Money

Our 360° approach means we look after every detail — and we’re especially good at the two biggest budget-killers: maintenance and parts.

• Maintenance savings → We use predictive tools to catch small issues before they become big bills. No emergency AOG calls at 2 a.m., no $150k surprise engine events. Owners typically save 20–35 % on annual maintenance costs.

• Parts savings → With 15 years of direct relationships across North and South America, we buy straight from manufacturers and trusted suppliers — never retail. That means 25–40 % off list price on everything from tires to avionics upgrades.

• Crew savings → As your aircraft manager, you benefit directly from my thousands of hours as a flight instructor, chief pilot, and aircraft owner. I know exactly what “perfect crew” looks like, how to find them, and how to keep them happy and sharp — without the inflated salaries and turnover you see at the big operators.

Because I’ve sat in every seat — left seat, right seat, instructor seat, and owner seat — I can spot the right people instantly and build a team that flies your family the way I would fly mine.

Time saved. Money saved. Peace of mind earned.

Why 2026 Is Different

Insurance companies now reward real safety programs and pilot experience. Predictive maintenance and digital logbooks add 8–15 % to resale value. The smart money has moved from “who is the biggest” to “who actually answers the phone and cares.”

If you’re tired of being a tail number in someone else’s spreadsheet, let’s talk about management that finally feels personal.

Pedro Bizzotto — Founder & Captain