Aircraft Sales and Acquisition at Zurich Airport
Buying or selling a private jet is one of the few aviation decisions where bad advice costs more than the aircraft itself. A machine that looks well priced on a listing can carry an engine programme that was never enrolled, an incomplete logbook, or a cabin configuration that makes it hard to sell three years later.
We have been based at Zurich Airport since 2002, and we do not only broker aircraft. We manage, operate and maintain them. Every aircraft in our fleet arrived through an owner mandate, which means we have sat on the buyer’s side of the table, paid the invoices that followed, and lived with the consequences of each decision for years afterwards.
Buying an aircraft
We start with the mission, not the model. How many hours a year, which routes, how many passengers, what runway performance, and whether the aircraft should also generate charter revenue. Those answers usually narrow the field to two or three types before any listing is opened.
From there we handle the search across the open market and the off-market network, build a shortlist with a realistic total cost of ownership for each candidate, negotiate on your behalf, organise the technical inspection, and coordinate the closing, delivery and registration.
Because we operate a fleet, our cost estimates come from what we actually pay each month for fuel, crew, maintenance, hangarage and navigation fees, not from a manufacturer’s brochure figure.
Selling an aircraft
Selling well is mostly preparation. We assess where your aircraft sits against current market data for the same type, serial range and engine programme status, advise on what is worth correcting before it goes to market and what is not, and present it to the international broker and operator network.
We then manage the enquiries, the buyer’s technical inspection and the handover. Aircraft we have managed ourselves tend to sell faster, for one unglamorous reason: the records are complete. Documentation is the single most common cause of a sale falling apart late.
Flight operations
Our sales and dispatch team plans and coordinates every flight, from routing and slots to handling, permits and ground arrangements. You tell us where you need to be. We take care of what it takes to get you there.
Crew
Your aircraft is flown by crew we select, train and roster, and continuity matters: owners who fly regularly see the same faces in the cabin. Our pilots complete recurrent type training twice a year at FlightSafety International or CAE, with further refresher training through the year, so that the crew on your aircraft is always current on the type and on the technology in the cockpit.
Maintenance and airworthiness
We coordinate scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, manage the maintenance programme and keep the technical records that keep your aircraft airworthy. Work is carried out at an EASA-approved maintenance organisation, and continuing airworthiness is managed through a CAMO, so that your aircraft stays compliant without you having to follow the paperwork.
Administration and cost control
Insurance, registration, invoicing, fuel agreements, budgets and reporting. You receive a clear picture of what your aircraft costs and why, and you deal with one team rather than a dozen suppliers.
Pre-purchase evaluation
An aircraft evaluation is where most of the risk is removed, and it is work we also do as a standalone service for owners who have already found their aircraft.
Our technical side reviews the airworthiness status, logbooks and maintenance history, outstanding airworthiness directives and service bulletins, damage and repair history, engine and APU programme enrolment, avionics compliance with current and upcoming European requirements, and the time remaining before the next major inspection. We work with EASA-approved maintenance and continuing airworthiness management, so the review is done by people who will still be responsible for the aircraft after you own it.
Why buyers work with an operator, not only a broker
A broker is paid when the transaction closes. An operator still answers the phone in year four.
We are independent and family-owned, founded in 2002 and now in its second generation, with no manufacturer or dealer affiliation deciding which aircraft we recommend. We are also the people who will put crew on the aircraft, keep it airworthy and account for its costs, if you choose to have us manage it afterwards. That makes us slow to recommend an aircraft we would not want to operate.
Swiss registration and operating structure
If the aircraft is to be based in Switzerland, two questions arrive early: which register it should sit on, and how it should be operated.
We advise on Swiss HB registration and the alternatives, coordinate with your tax and legal advisers on import and VAT structuring rather than replacing them, and set out whether the aircraft should be operated privately or placed on an Air Operator Certificate. That last choice decides whether the aircraft can earn charter revenue, and it is worth settling before the purchase rather than after.
What the service costs
Acquisition and sales mandates are quoted per project, because the work differs enormously between a straightforward in-production aircraft and a twenty-year-old airframe with an unusual history. We set the fee and the scope out in writing before any search begins, and we tell you where our interest lies in every recommendation.
Most owners who buy through us go on to
have the aircraft
managed from Zurich. That covers flight operations, crew, maintenance and cost control, and it is also what makes
charter revenue possible on the days you are not flying.
The aircraft we manage
Our
managed fleet operates out of Zurich and has been built up over two decades of owner mandates. It covers everything from short regional hops to intercontinental missions.
Frequently asked questions
Do you only sell aircraft you manage?
No. We sell and acquire aircraft for clients with no other relationship with us, and we also run standalone pre-purchase evaluations. Aircraft from our own managed fleet do come to market from time to time, and those we know line by line.
How long does it take to buy a private jet?
From a clear mission profile to delivery, three to six months is normal for a pre-owned aircraft. The search is rarely the slow part. The technical inspection, the correction of findings, and the registration and import formalities are what set the timeline.
What should a first-time buyer in Switzerland know?
Three things. The purchase price is the smaller number, so budget for the first year of operation before you commit. The engine and maintenance programme status can move the real value of an aircraft by a seven-figure amount, regardless of asking price. And decide early whether you want charter revenue, because that decision shapes the registration, the operating structure and even the cabin specification.
Can you find aircraft that are not publicly listed?
Often, yes. A meaningful share of business aircraft change hands without ever appearing on a listing portal, through the operator and management network. That is where being an operator in Europe since 2002 is useful.
Do you carry out the pre-purchase inspection yourselves?
We manage the inspection and interpret the findings for you. The physical inspection is performed at an appropriately approved maintenance organisation for the type, which we select and supervise.
Talk to us about buying or selling
Tell us what you fly today, or what you want to fly, and we will tell you honestly whether the market has it. Our team at Zurich Airport in Kloten answers directly.