Aircraft owners often seek to offset part of their operating costs with charter revenue. First, they must ensure they meet a range of regulatory demands and legal considerations, as Gerrard Cowan highlights.
The legal fundamentals for aircraft management and charter usage have remained consistent in recent years. Nevertheless, it’s important for aircraft owners to understand them before seeking to make their aircraft available for hire through Part 135 operations. Gerrard Cowan explores.
“What does change from time to time is the degree of emphasis that government authorities place on one or another aspect of aviation safety and compliance,” says Ron Brower, Founder of RBAvLaw and a board member and legal counsel at the Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF).
The first rule is to never advertise, sell or operate charter services yourself, Brower warns. This could “open a Pandora’s Box of potential regulatory, tax and financial troubles”.
Instead, find an aircraft management business that has the legal authority to act as an air carrier and who can advertise, sell and operate charter flights using your aircraft, then pay you for its use.
“To ensure your best chance at success in this relationship with the aircraft manager, you should take care to understand the capabilities of its business, confirm its licenses and operating history, verify its safety culture and overall corporate culture, and develop a mutually agreeable plan for the flow of aircraft costs and charter costs,” Brower outlines.
Only once this is done should you enter into the written agreements necessary to make your aircraft available to the aircraft manager for charter.
“The happiest outcomes generally come from the development of a good relationship and reasonable, shared expectations for the aircraft, before the aircraft owner and aircraft manager finish their written agreements,” he says.
This article was originally published by AvBuyer on June 22, 2026.