Guardian Jet Blog

Guardian Jet has an impressive Falcon 900EX in our inventory for immediate sale.

Three eGarrett TFE‐731‐60‐1C engines enable Falcon climb performance from short runways and mountainous airports. This aircraft is designed for international travel, boasting a range well over 4,000 nautical miles.  Other features include Triple Honeywell Flight Management Systems with dual GPS, Mode S Transponders with Enhanced Surveillance Flight ID and EGPWS with wind shear detection.

The 12-passenger interior is separated into three distinct groupings, and includes a spacious lavatory and inflight access to ample baggage compartments. Aircell ATG‐4000 GoGo Biz network allows access to high speed internet. While the Baker MH Entertainment and Environmental Control System, with two 15” bulkhead monitors and five flip-up monitors with DVD players, lets you control the cabin display during flight.

The aircraft is in excellent condition, with detailed, organized record keeping. It has been owned and operated by a single Fortune 150 company since new, and has no known damage history.

More details and photos are available under our aircraft inventory .  And make sure to check our new video on the aircraft, on our YouTube channel.

For more information, please contact us at 203-453-0800 or via email at info@guardianjet.com.

On January 1 2013, Congress passed the American taxpayer relief act of 2012.   But what does this mean for the aviation industry?  Well, the biggest impact is that a 50% bonus depreciation was extended for new aircraft purchased and delivered in 2013.

In addition, new orders placed in 2013 and delivered by 12/31/14 will also qualify for 50% bonus depreciation as long as the contract qualifies under the long-lead production exception.  

The items needed in the contract in order to qualify under long-lead exception clause are as follows:

1. Cannot be part 135 aircraft

2. Contract must be signed by 12/31/13

3. A nonrefundable deposit of either 10% or $ 100,000 whichever is LESS.

4. There has to be at least a 5% liquidation damages if the client fails to perform.

5.  Please note that it takes at least four (4) months to deliver.

The act also extends through 2013 and enhanced version of code section 179 for small business expensing. The code section 179 dollar limit for expensing tangible personal property is extended to $ 500,000 through the end of 2013 with a 2 million investment dollar limit.

This allows expensing of improvements to the aircraft that might have needed to be capitalized over a 6 year period in the past such as interior fit up and improvements. However, if you spend more than 2 million in total improvements, you no longer qualify for this special section 179 deduction, so it is meant for small businesses.

For more information about this new Tax Relief Act, and what it means for you – visit www.guardianjet.com and visit our Learning Center section that has several white papers available.

As you ring in the New Year, you might be wondering if it is time to evaluate the lifespan of your aircraft. The question isn’t “should I replace it?” but “when?” Depending on who you ask, the answers can vary from anywhere between five to fifteen years.   Here are the most important things to consider:

• Life Cycle Costs: This refers to the total ownership spending of your jet, including capital equipment, operating budget, and tax benefits. To calculate these costs, Guardian Jet uses financial projections called cash flows.   So, if you buy an aircraft at the beginning of its cash flow, add in all the money spent operating, and sell the airplane at the end of the cash flow, the goal is to recover the value into the cash flow.   

• Average Yearly Ownership Costs: Replacing an aircraft each year can be expensive; so typically, Guardian Jet will create graphs to look at the average yearly ownership costs. The data says that around the fifth year of ownership, the curve in market value bottoms out and then there is a little bump around the seventh and eighth years. This bump indicates that, to keep an aircraft sellable, paint and interior maintenance should be done every 7 to 8 years assuming that it is flown at the average for a corporate jet (around 400 hours.)  After the eighth year of ownership, the curve continues to decrease. In terms of numbers, only about $25,000 per year is saved by replacing an airplane every fifteen years rather than every six years. Either option is fine from a capital standpoint. 

• Regulatory Issues: Something a lot of aircraft owners do not initially take into consideration is the regulatory issues that continuously pop up. They are rapidly increasing in the U.S. and are very present if travelling to Europe, for example. This leads to a decision. Is it worth it to make investments to go along with constantly updated rules and regulations, which could possibly be millions of dollars, to update the aircraft or is it better to buy a new one?

• Residual Value:   No one wants to invest in something that they can’t make money off of when they sell it later. In this volatile economy, a new aircraft drops in value about the way the Dow does, while older versions of the exact same aircraft can drop abruptly and to a great degree. When the Dow picks back up again, the newer plane is able to recover much more quickly and close to its original value than the older aircraft possibly can. The older airplanes just aren’t recovering the way the newer ones can, regardless of the economy. This alone may be a reason to consider shortening the length of ownership of your aircraft.  

It makes sense to consider replacing your airplane prior to the fifteen year mark in order to decrease regulatory investment costs and maintain the plane’s residual value – but because there is no industry standard and no right or wrong answer from a capital point of view, Guardian Jet work closely with clients to ensure that the right decision is made. 

For more tips and insight, make sure to take advantage of some of the resources we have in our Learning Center at www.guardianjet.com.

Benjamin Franklin once said that without continual growth and progress, “such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”  This is no more evident than within the business aviation industry, as demonstrated by the evolution of the aviation professional and flight departments across the globe.

Looking back over the course of a few decades, historically speaking, flight departments consisted of pilots, and were somewhat autonomous from the rest of the company.   They functioned as a stand alone entity and some times, in its simplest form, a “flight department” consisted of one single pilot who flew a single airplane and ran the entire operation.

In today’s marketplace, however, things are very different.  Today’s aviation manager is integrated into the strategic vision of the company, and is considered to be an integral part of the overall planning of an organization.  These days, flight departments consist of a group of extremely qualified professionals with multiple degrees, and take on many duties in addition to the responsibility of transporting company personnel.  These responsibilities can include scheduling, crew management, maintenance and repair, and flight planning – which includes profit and loss computing, life cycle costs, etc.

This evolution can be attributed to a lot of things, among them the additional resources that are available to aviation managers including the National Business Aviation Association and other aviation seminars and programs that help mold the aviation manager to a senior business leader.

Simply put, it’s not just about purchasing, piloting or fixing planes anymore.  Today’s aviation professional takes a proactive approach to determining what aircraft fit the strategic mission of the organization and executing a fleet plan that is in sync with corporate strategy.

It really is an exciting time to be aviation professional, and Guardian Jet is excited to be a part of it.   Make sure to take advantage of some of the resources we have in our Learning Center on www.guardianjet.com.