Leasing a Private Jet With Crew: How Long Term Exclusive Use Works
Not everyone who wants their own private jet wants to own one, or to run the crew, maintenance and paperwork that comes with it. A long term lease with crew fills that gap. An operator provides a specific aircraft, already on its air operator certificate, with its own pilots and cabin crew, for your exclusive use over six months, a year or longer.
It suits executives and families with a busy but predictable schedule, companies covering a project or a posting abroad, and governments or state enterprises that need a dedicated aircraft for a defined period.
How it differs from charter and from a dry lease
With charter, you buy individual trips on whatever aircraft is available. With a dry lease, you get the aircraft only and must organise everything else yourself. A lease with crew sits between the two: the same aircraft and crew every time, operated and maintained by a professional operator, but reserved for you.
For the full comparison of lease types, see ACMI vs dry lease vs wet lease.
How the price is built
Most crewed private jet leases have two parts.
A fixed monthly fee. It covers the aircraft's availability, crew salaries, insurance, hangar and a share of the fixed maintenance cost. You pay it whether you fly or not.
An hourly rate for flying. It covers the costs that rise with use: fuel (sometimes billed separately at cost), engine and airframe maintenance reserves, and crew allowances away from base.
Some contracts replace this with a single hourly rate and a monthly minimum of hours. Either way, the key question is the same: what does the aircraft cost you in a month when you do not fly at all?
What to agree before signing
Availability
Exclusive use can mean different things. Is the aircraft yours every day of the term, or are there blackout periods for maintenance? How much notice do you need to give before a trip, and what happens if two trips overlap?
Crew
How many crew are assigned, and how are their duty and rest limits covered on long days or back to back trips? A single crew set limits how much you can fly in a week. A second set costs more but removes that ceiling.
Base and positioning
Where is the aircraft based, and who pays when it has to fly empty to pick you up? If most of your trips start away from the base, positioning can add a large share to the bill. Basing the aircraft where you actually fly from is usually worth negotiating for.
Maintenance downtime
Every aircraft needs scheduled inspections. Agree how long they may take, when they happen, and whether the operator provides a replacement aircraft, and of what size, while yours is in the hangar.
Charter revenue
Some operators will charter the aircraft to third parties when you are not using it and share the revenue with you, reducing your net cost. Others will guarantee it is never used by anyone else. Decide which you want, because the price is different.
The EU customs trap
If you live in the European Union, be careful with aircraft registered outside it. EU customs rules restrict the private use of non-EU registered aircraft by EU residents under temporary admission. Using the wrong aircraft on a private basis inside the EU can trigger import VAT and duty on the full value of the aircraft. If the aircraft is operated commercially on a charter certificate, different rules apply. Get specialist advice before the first flight, not after the first landing.
Which aircraft suit a crewed lease
Most crewed leases fall into two groups:
Midsize and super midsize jets such as the Challenger 350 or Praetor 600, for regional travel of up to around six hours.
Long range jets such as the Global 6000 and Gulfstream G650, for intercontinental flying. See our note on leasing a Gulfstream G650 or Bombardier Global.
Getting started
Tell us your expected hours per month, your usual routes, where you would like the aircraft based, the passenger count and the term. We will come back with suitable aircraft from operators, each priced on the same basis so you can compare the monthly fixed cost as well as the hourly rate. Email info@jetvice.net or visit our aircraft leasing page.
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