Money » Taxes, Laws & Finance

The changing face of aircraft lending
February 26, 2013
The industry is already subject to substantial regulation. A Forbes 400 client purchasing an airplane recently faced the kind of scrutiny normally reserved for convicted felons. (Illustration by John Lewis)
Having emerged battered and bruised from the 2008 recession, aircraft lenders face fresh challenges. While worldwide economic woes linger like a bad cold that won’t go away, these lenders can expect accounting and regulatory changes that may have a significant impact on their business.
Buying business aircraft: The board member’s role
January 28, 2013
Buying business aircraft: The board member’s role
For most corporations, the purchase of a business jet represents a major transaction that requires approval of the board of directors. What should the directors consider when the company is thinking about buying an aircraft?
Choosing your aviation lawyer
August 15, 2012
Choosing your aviation lawyer
When you need legal help buying, owning, operating or selling an aircraft, whom do you call? Many people contact their regular business attorney. That can be a big mistake.
Surviving a tax audit
July 20, 2012
Surviving a tax audit
As a big-ticket asset promising large potential tax adjustments, a business jet easily captures the attention of IRS auditors. Given the woefully complicated tax rules applicable to these aircraft, who can blame the IRS for seeking additional revenue opportunities in the flight department?
The perfect airplane
April 20, 2012
The perfect airplane
Like other lawsuits, most of the ones involving business jets are settled out of court. Every once in a while, though, a corporate jet case will not only reach a judge but produce a decision that shines a spotlight into some dark corner of business aviation. One such case is JDI Holdings, LLC v. Jet Management, Inc., et al., 732 F. Supp.
Business Jet Finance Report
February 1, 2012
In these days of sluggish economic recovery and historically low interest rates, the biggest competition for those offering business jet financing is a four-letter word: cash. Those who still have the resources to buy aircraft often prefer to pay cash rather than finance, for the simple reason that they now have few other attractive places to put their money.
Cabotage Caveats
November 15, 2011
Cabotage Caveats
Sports fans panicked a couple of years ago when the Department of Transportation, the FAA's parent organization, ordered a charter service run by Air Canada to cancel sports-team flights in the U.S.
The whole truth about two parts
October 1, 2011
One of the first things you hear about when you begin using business aviation in the U.S. is the mysterious but important distinction between Part 91 and Part 135 operations. Many people still think about the difference in simplistic terms: Part 91–good; Part 135–bad. The facts are considerably more complicated.
Chartering your own aircraft
August 1, 2011
Chartering your own aircraft can help you save on sales and use taxes and, in
You wouldn't think of buying a house and then renting it to yourself. Why would you ever want to charter your own aircraft?
Aviation Insurance 2011
July 1, 2011
When BJT's 2010 Buyers' Guide appeared a year ago, all signs suggested a shift toward an aviation insurance market characterized by increasing premiums, restricted coverage availability and more rigid underwriting criteria.

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Quote/Unquote

“When you get into the larger aircraft it becomes like a hotel, with dozens of staff supporting the plane based in a galley area down below. You have very comprehensive cooking facilities, and on larger aircraft we have looked at theatres, with spiral staircases and a Steinway grand piano. The limitations for what you can put inside a plane are pretty much the limits of physics, and even money cannot always overcome that. Even so, people are still always trying to push [the limits]. ”

-Howard Guy of Design Q, a UK-based consultancy