The bolt in question had to be replaced when Gregory had the wings of his jet removed to ferret out a fuel leak. It was far from the largest maintenance expense he has incurred. Shortly after he purchased his jet two years ago, an inspection revealed numerous small problems in various systems. The repairs totaled $200,000. Then, during the Hawker’s latest inspection, an ultrasound revealed tiny cracks in the copilot’s windshield. The cost to install a new one was $33,000.

Gregory seems unfazed by these outlays. "If you don’t have the intestinal fortitude to write a $200,000 check, you shouldn’t own a jet," he says. "We joke about it. You can’t shoot a spit wad at my airplane without doing $5,000 worth of damage." Most jet owners could share a similar tale of small problems that morphed into large maintenance bills. But this does not mean owners can (or should) bear exorbitant costs. Gregory is one of a growing number of aircraft owners streamlining the expenses of private jet ownership by overseeing and managing their aircraft themselves.

Owning a jet, Gregory says, is as expensive as one allows it to be. Although no jet owner can completely protect himself from an unexpectedly high maintenance bill, there are simple steps one can take with each flight and at each ownership juncture to reduce costs considerably. Gregory says that diligent owners who choose the right crew and ask the right questions can save between 10 and 20 percent on maintenance costs. "We’ve negotiated price reductions in scheduled maintenance of $30,000 to $40,000," he says. Owners who know how to shop for fuel can save even more, he adds.

Gas Materialism
Fuel is by far the single-largest ownership expense. According to Orleans, Mass.–based aviation consultancy Conklin & de Decker, a Hawker 850 XP, which is similar to Gregory’s aircraft, costs $2,157 per hour to fly. Of that, $1,484 goes toward fuel. Realizing this, many owners attempt to buy fuel at the lowest possible price and use it sparingly. "Checking fuel costs has become as crucial as checking the weather," says Nick Cerretani, the aircraft broker who sold Gregory his jet. "How you buy fuel on a specific trip can dramatically change the cost of the mission. You can save 30 to 40 percent on fuel costs if you know how to buy," he adds.

TOP VIEW Rather than pay steep fees to management companies to oversee the care and maintenance of their private aircraft, some owners are working directly with pilots and mechanics to get the job done themselves. By establishing performance incentives for their own crews, these owners are able to lower their fuel costs while making certain maintenance is performed correctly. Direct oversight such as this can be time consuming, but it can keep the soaring costs of aircraft ownership grounded.

Fuel wholesalers, such as Phoenix Fuel, Colt International and Avcard, offer programs that allow members to buy fuel at a discount. Unfortunately, not every airport sells fuel from one of these providers. Gregory belongs to several such programs because he flies to so many different airports. He also plans his itinerary around the price of fuel. His chief pilot, Scott MacIntosh, calls different airports near Gregory’s destination to check current prices. If the manager of a fixed-base operator (an FBO is a business licensed to sell services at airports) tells him that the going rate is $3.80 per gallon, MacIntosh will try to haggle him down to $3.50. "In aviation, everything is negotiable if you know how to ask," Gregory says.

Some jet owners are also banding together to buy jet fuel on the wholesale market. Lawyer Jim Ferraro, founding partner of the Ferraro Law Firm in Miami and a partner in Kelly & Ferraro in Cleveland, has owned three different jets. His latest purchase, a Challenger 601, burns 250 gallons per hour. Rather than pay retail prices, Ferraro joined with several owners at his airport in Miami to purchase an 8,000-gallon private fuel tank, also known as a fuel farm (see "Fuel Farming"). Together they buy fuel wholesale on the spot cargo market, the same way that FBOs buy it. "I pay about $2.39 a gallon for jet fuel. At Teterboro Airport, I would pay more than twice that," Ferraro says. He frequently flies to New York, but never lands at Teterboro, the busiest general aviation airport near Manhattan, because of its expense.

Ferraro also chooses destination airports based on how much fuel he will burn in transit. He estimates that any trip to a busy general aviation beehive such as Teterboro will require him to circle in a holding pattern for up to 40 minutes. "You can burn $1,000 in fuel in that time," he says. Ferraro would rather land in nearby White Plains, N.Y., which has a shorter wait and is only an extra 10 minutes by car to Manhattan. In addition, the difference in fuel costs at the two airports is considerable: White Plains’ prices typically run $1.50 per gallon less than those at Teterboro.