UPDATES: Discussion

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By Ryan Olson

“At least 80% of the owners in the large jet category are working with someone who can independently review the facts and figures. They’re spending upwards of $20m, that’s a huge amount of capital to commit without having an expert triple-checking the details.”

This was the response from Dan Kilkeary, Managing Member of The Aviation Office, when asked about the percentage of aircraft owners represented by an independent advisor in a recent interview with Alasdair Whyte of Corporate Jet Investor.

The rationale is no different to a collector acquiring a multi-million-dollar artwork. They would rarely rely solely on the seller’s description or gallery representation. Independent experts are engaged to verify authenticity, assess provenance, and confirm the work’s condition and value.

Aircraft ownership warrants the same level of discipline. There’s typically a lot of focus on the point of purchase, but ownership decisions extend far beyond this. Informed owners are those with independent oversight, avoiding the risk of inheriting misaligned program structures, inefficient cost profiles, and operational decisions that quietly erode asset value over time.

The important distinction here is independence. Client Advisors exist purely to represent the client’s interests. That independence allows every decision to be evaluated solely through the lens of the owner’s objectives, rather than operational priorities, transactional timelines or reactive requirements.

In my years managing aircraft, I’ve found the most overlooked aspect of ownership is asset preservation. Aircraft values are influenced by far more than flight hours. Maintenance planning, records integrity, program participation and operational decisions can all materially impact the aircraft’s market position when it eventually returns to sale.

Independent advisory provides continuous oversight of these factors, helping owners protect the value of the asset while maintaining operational efficiency. And, for many family offices and principals, this oversight becomes an integral part of their broader portfolio management approach.