More than 14,000 American companies have a business aircraft. Critics see corporate jets as a symbol of waste and excess, but private business jets can have huge benefits. Corporate private aircrafts can help executives, employees and clients quickly travel to and from hard-to-reach rural locations that are not served by frequent commercial airline service.

Purchasing a company jet is a major investment and not a decision to be taken lightly. So you will want to be sure you are making the most of corporate jets by:

1. Figuring out if now is the right time to buy a business airplane.

2. Finding ways to save money on your corporate private jet.

3. Understanding the benefits and risks of buying a used corporate private aircraft.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Decide if you should buy a corporate jet

A basic eight-seat corporate jet can easily start at $5 million. So before you go looking for corporate jets for sale, make sure your company will get a return on that investment. Figure out who would use the jet, where they would go and how often they would fly. Compare that cost to the annual costs of charter flights, and decide if the jet would pay for itself.

I recommend: BNET has an excellent in-depth article that can help you decide if your company is ready for a corporate jet. Check out eHow to learn about many of the other expenses that go along with purchasing a private jet, such as renting a hanger and hiring a pilot and crew.

Find ways to save money on a new business aircraft purchase

An easy way to save money when buying a business aircraft is to purchase a partial share of a corporate jet. You avoid the huge expense of purchasing a new airplane, then essentially share the associated costs with several other companies. Finally, you can save money on one of the largest expenses -- fuel -- buy purchasing one of the newer, lighter, more fuel-efficient aircrafts.

I recommend: If you are interested in partial ownership of a private jet, check out Corporate JetShares. The company, based in California, has a website that answers most questions about jet sharing. Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive has detailed information and links concerning fuel efficient corporate airplanes.

Shop for used private business jets

You can save you a great deal of money by purchasing a used company jet. However, finding a used corporate jet can be difficult, and you will need to find someone to give it a complete inspection and test flight before the purchase.

I recommend: General Aviation Services goes into great detail about all the steps that you should go through before purchasing a used aircraft. AvBuyer has a comprehensive listing of used corporate jets for sale and can give you a good idea about prices.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If know who your chief pilot will be, involve him or her in the purchase of your company jet as much as possible. The chief pilot will be responsible for the plane on a day-to-day basis and will likely provide good input on a purchase.

As global business continues to extend into every corner of the world, organizations are forced to question the options available in terms of business aircraft travel. Even with the variety of corporate jets available, a company jet can be a too vast an investment for most businesses.

Often, the most cost effective choice is a private corporate jet charter. With charter services, a company can reap the benefits of a corporate jet without the limitations of relying upon a single corporate airplane or dealing with logistical complications alone. Also with a corporate jet rental, previous obstacles presented by luggage check-ins and public airport security are avoided.

Choosing an effective business travel strategy can often provide financial relief, but there are numerous additional benefits that result from chartering corporate jets.

1. Encourage Productivity: Independent research done by Louis Harris & Associates indicates that productivity levels are elevated in a private business jet than in an office environment.

2. Reduce Time and Costs on the Road: The days of the expenses of car rentals and overnight stays are over, as you are no longer limited by the public airport system. Also the airline concerns previously fretted over, such as cancellation fees or time-sensitive booking, are reduced by your investment in a corporate jet charter.

3. Build Employee Appreciation: Communicate to your executives that you understand the value of their time with the ease of a company jet, with the customized meal service and relaxing atmosphere.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use a charter broker

You can have a brokerage organize your business aircraft experience rather than going to individual providers. Brokers can help ease a new business into familiarizing themselves with chartering private business jets.

I recommend: BidQwest and Air Broker Net let you place quote requests online.

Choosing between hourly and card programs

Some charter services are based by the hour and others are purchased in bulk through various card programs. Depending on how much you are planning to utilize your charter service, you can tailor your financial commitment here.

I recommend: Atlantic Aviation Flight Services can provide hourly rates, which vary, or a company like Bombardier Skyjet can sell blocks of hours at a flat hourly rate through a card account, such as their Learjet card.

Check your provider's credentials

If you don't decide to go through a broker, it is important to confirm the regulations that your flight will be flown under and that the provider possesses a valid Part 135 air taxi certificate.

I recommend: Aviation Research Group/US, Inc. and the Wyvern Report are both well established as providers of safety reports on Part 135 charter companies. Chartered corporate airplane services will often cite this.

Save on travel costs with 'empty leg flights'

Empty leg flights, one-way flights that return empty to their original departure, are efficient ways to lower costs on both ends of corporate private aircraft. On one end, it saves companies money by taking flights that would normally not be utilized. On the other, owners of jets that would normally be empty can regain costs by allowing companies to schedule these flights.

I recommend: OneSky Jets and ElleJet both emphasize their empty leg flight programs.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Most providers are upfront about their fees and charges, but make sure to cover all your bases by finding out exactly what your quotation includes.

If your business uses corporate jets or other business aircraft, then you might be considering hiring a pilot, or you may have someone on staff with a private pilot's license who would be an excellent candidate for piloting the company jet. How can you find out about the training and education necessary for flying business jets?

Before you put a pilot in the company jet you should look at the pilot's education and training to make sure you feel comfortable with it. Investigate the pilot's background and ask the following questions:

1. Where did you last fly corporate jets or private business jets?

2. How many hours of flight time have you logged overall, and how many hours have you logged in a corporate airplane?

3. Do you have the appropriate ratings to fly corporate private aircrafts?

Armed with that information you can proceed with training and education decisions for your pilots. You have three basic options for training those who will fly your corporate airplane: private instruction, flight academies and ground school. Which route your business chooses will depend on your pilots, their training and your budget.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Consider private instruction to fly business aircraft

Any time a pilot flies for money he must have a commercial pilot's license, only earned after a pilot logs more than 250 hours and passes a checkride with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) examiner. If your company employs people with private pilot certificates, they may make excellent candidates for flying the corporate private jet. But first you'll need to get them instruction. Private instruction helps a pilot earn his commercial rating.

I recommend: Find a flight instructor who can offer a pilot one-on-one instruction at web database for the National Association of Flight Instructors or at the listing of instructors from Pilot Journey.

Use flight academies for larger executive jets

While many private business jets seat relatively few people, many corporate private aircraft carry sufficient passengers to require the pilot to have an air transport pilot (ATP) rating. Generally pilots get these ratings either from a commercial airline's training program (typically available only to that company's employees) or a flight academy.

I recommend: ATP offers air transport pilot flight academies, but before you sign your pilots up for any flight academy, spend some time on forums that can help you learn more about different flight academies. Airline Pilot Forums maintains several forums that deal with ATP training.

Send your corporate jet pilots to ground school

While much of a pilot's training necessitates they log hours in an airplane, every pilot who flies a business airplane will spend some time learning from books. Much of this book learning happens in ground school.

I recommend: Consult the database at Aviationwise to find a ground school either online or physically close to your business. To help pilots get the most out of ground school, suggest that they create a free account and take the practice tests at MHG Enterprises.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Don't get so busy researching corporate jets education and training that you forget to ask your pilot (or pilots) if they have a flight school, instructor or ground school they prefer.

If your business owns or charters corporate jets, then it's important to know some of the language used in connection with corporate jets. While not as large as jets used by commercial airlines, corporate jets are still complex machines with their own industry-specific language that may sound foreign to those unfamiliar with it. If your company charters corporate jets, then knowing key terms related to corporate jets may help you negotiate a better charter contract.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Air charter broker

An air charter broker acts as the middleman between the person or business chartering a corporate jet and the owners of a corporate jet.

I recommend: AirBrokerNet.com explains how an air charter broker works and what to expect from such a broker.

Federal Aviation Administration

The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, governs almost everything relating to any airplanes, including corporate jets. Pilots, crew, mechanics and aircraft owners all fall under the FAA's jurisdiction.

I recommend: The mission statement from the Federal Aviation Administration explains what the FAA does.

Airframe and powerplant mechanics

Airframe and powerplant mechanics repair and maintain corporate jets. You can find an airframe and powerplant mechanic at your local airport. If you own more than one corporate jet, then your company may opt to hire a full-time airframe and powerplant mechanic.

I recommend: The United States Department of Labor describes what an airframe and powerplant mechanic does.

Visual flight rules

Visual flight rules, or VFR, refer to how a pilot should fly when the pilot can see at least five miles and the ceiling is 3,000 feet or higher. Many pilots use the term VFR when they don't have to use the instruments alone to navigate.

I recommend: Air Transport Association of America explains how VFR works. Air Sports Net explains the VFR minimums for weather and visibility.

Instrument flight rules

Instrument flight rules, or IFR, refer to weather conditions that do not meet VFR minimums. Both the pilot and the corporate jet being flown must be certified to fly in IFR conditions. Most corporate jets and their pilots have IFR certifications.

I recommend: Altair Virtual Airlines explains instrument flight rules in detail.

Flight instruments

Flight instruments include the altimeter, attitude indicator, turn coordinator, vertical speed indicator, airspeed indicator and heading indicator.

I recommend: Read the definition from Ronald H. Gruner of flight instruments and how they work together.