What a $75 Million Airplane Actually Costs to Own

Summary

Israel Slodowitz, founder of Craft, walks through the private-aviation market as a surge of new wealth pushes more buyers toward charter, fractional ownership, and outright purchase. He explains the aircraft ladder from light jets to ultra-long-range models, then argues that the true burden of ownership is not the sticker price but the recurring cost stack: depreciation, pilots, maintenance, insurance, hangar, downtime, and training. The discussion also covers the supply-side bottlenecks limiting aircraft and parts availability, why Starlink has become a must-have on premium jets, and how airport- and operator-specific rules affect safety and service. A major segment focuses on tax structure, especially bonus depreciation and recapture, and why concentrated-stock founders and employees need different structures than legacy wealthy owners. The episode closes with operational color from Captain Raz Matus on redundancy, cockpit procedure, long-haul flying, and why cleanliness and organization are proxies for operator quality.

Notes

• Craft is a Part 135 charter operator that also flies supplemental lift for major providers like NetJets, Flexjet, and Wheels Up.
• The interview frames private aviation demand as being pulled by a historic wave of new wealth and concentrated stock liquidity.
• Israel says the new buyers are often 'new money' rather than long-built business owners.
• He argues demand is outrunning aircraft factories, supply chains, engine parts, and pilot training capacity.
• Molly pushes the point that a shortage is likely if more people enter the market.
• Aircraft values are unusual right now because higher-end planes are appreciating rather than depreciating.
• The market is being reshaped by a small increase in the number of buyers, which he says the industry is not ready for.
• He lays out the aircraft ladder from light jets to ultra-long-range models with concrete examples.
• Light jets are positioned as short-hop aircraft for roughly one- to two-hour missions.
• Midsize aircraft like the Citation XLS and Latitude sit above light jets.
• Super-midsize jets such as the Challenger 350 and Praetor 600 are described as the 'proper jet' class.
• Heavy jets are already being used for short missions when families want more cabin space.
• Ultra-long-range aircraft are the choice for transatlantic travel.
• He says the traditional ownership threshold is around 150 to 250 flight hours per year.
• But he says flexibility can make ownership rational even below that range.
• Owning an aircraft is described as running a mini airline.
• Aircraft are usually structured inside a single-purpose LLC or SPV and leased to the operating business for tax efficiency.
• A Global 8000 is described as a $75 million airplane.
• New aircraft can be cheaper to maintain initially because warranties cover some costs.
• Pilot staffing for a large private jet is often three to four pilots, and he pegs the cost at $1-2 million a year.
• He says the annual burn to run a jet is roughly $2-4 million once pilots, fuel, fixed costs, and maintenance are included.
• The purchase price is only the beginning of the ownership journey.
• Empty legs are repositioning flights sold cheaply because the aircraft has to move anyway.
• Charter prices can swing dramatically from day to day for the same route.
• Jet cards are described as prepaid charter with fixed pricing.
• Fractional ownership is the point where the customer starts taking residual depreciation risk.
• Craft layers an exchange fund on top of its operating business to give members premium aircraft access.
• He says adding more airplanes lowered volatility inside his fleet and inspired the exchange-fund pivot.
• The pitch is that private aviation is not economical in any truly cheap form.
• He compares plane financing to car financing: the aircraft is collateral, but the lender still underwrites the borrower personally.
• Only about 30% of aircraft have loans; 70% are bought with cash.
• He says he is building Radar for asset-backed, no-personal-guarantee aircraft financing.
• Corrosion is framed as a major hidden cost because it can require re-engineering, long downtime, and six-figure spend.
• Engine programs matter because the manufacturer effectively controls the parts queue.
• Pilot training recurs every six months and lasts about a week in simulator.
• Starlink is presented as a decisive differentiator for private flying.
• He says every aircraft in Craft's fleet now has Starlink installed.
• Starlink installs on a private jet are said to cost about $300,000 each.
• The install backlog is reportedly booked through the end of 2027.
• The new Starlink dish is said to have almost double the bandwidth of the current version.
• A private jet can have tens of thousands of parts, and most part failures ground the aircraft.
• A broken windshield can sideline an aircraft for months because of supply-chain constraints.
• A lavatory panel replacement is cited at $25,000.
• A set of brakes on the aircraft is said to cost over $100,000.
• He says some aircraft models are better than others because of parts availability, pilot training support, and engine-rental options.
• Demand is so strong that fractional waitlists are years long and Bombardier deliveries are stretching into 2030.
• He says supply shortages have pushed one aircraft's market value about $2 million above what they paid.
• A liquidity-event buyer is used as an example of chartering a Global 8000 or 7500 to Europe for $400,000 instead of buying it for $75 million.
• Bonus depreciation lets a buyer expense the full value of a plane in the year of purchase.
• He says you can buy a $10 million airplane with a $2 million down payment and still claim a $10 million deduction.
• Tax use must be real and defensible: he says the plane needs at least 51% business use.
• He warns that recapture taxes can turn the strategy into a kind of high-interest loan from the government.
• De-icing is a hidden charter expense that can exceed the flight cost itself.
• He cites a $24,000 de-icing bill in Aspen.
• Private-equity-owned FBOs are said to be monetizing ramp-space monopolies through event fees.
• He says those event fees can reach the tens of thousands of dollars for a short pickup or dropoff slot.
• Cabin altitude is used as an engineering argument for fatigue reduction.
• Circadian-rhythm lighting is emerging as a cabin technology that adapts to destination and time of day.
• Private aviation is framed as a time-saving tool that keeps people from losing whole days to travel fatigue.
• Aircraft resale can be extremely liquid, with one G650 reportedly selling within an hour of listing.
• Bad aircraft can still take months to sell, but the market is generally liquid.
• Safety discovery remains fragmented; even with Argus, he says there is no great system for unknown travelers to compare operators.
• Argus audits are described as pay-for-play, with platinum more rigorous than gold.
• Airport-specific operating rules are especially strict for mountain airports like Aspen, Telluride, Jackson Hole, and Sun Valley.
• He says mountains and airplanes are a bad mix.
• FlightCraft's busiest markets include New York/Teterboro, Miami, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, San Francisco, White Plains, and Aspen.
• San Francisco demand has grown materially and was not even top-10 five years ago.
• Raz Matus says he trained in the Air Force, then flight school, then civilian licensing.
• His longest flight was Hawaii to the East Coast, about nine hours.
• Long aircraft always have at least two pilots in the cockpit.
• Pilots work on Zulu time, not local time, for scheduling meals and operations.
• The plane is certified to fly without a flight attendant, and the crew covers those duties themselves.
• Most customers prefer no flight attendant because they want privacy and space.
• Bigger aircraft require flight attendants above a certain seat count for safety reasons.
• The aircraft has two of everything and is described as highly redundant for mountain and overwater flying.
• Over a thousand of these aircraft were built, which he says is unusually large for airplane terms.
• Cleanliness is treated as a proxy for operational quality.
• Israel says drawer organization reveals the operator's behind-the-scenes discipline.
• He names the Gulfstream G550, Challenger, and Cirrus as personal favorites.
• Airplane catering is portrayed as expensive but often worse than ordering from DoorDash or fast food.
• Raz jokes that In-N-Out costs the same whether eaten on the ground or in the air.