FROM THE OWNER’S DESK:

Flying private has always carried a certain mystique. It evokes images of exclusivity, wealth, and effortless luxury. And yes, it’s true, people don’t rush to post a selfie from a commercial gate, but they do on the tarmac beside a sleek jet. Still, those who fly privately regularly know the glamour wears off quickly. What’s left is far more practical: a tool for saving time. And in the end, that’s what private aviation is about: making time count. Below, I provide a few thoughts on my experiences with private jet travel, particularly with jet ownership.

My introduction to private jet travel was in 1999 on a flight with NetJets, shortly after Berkshire Hathaway acquired the company. At the time, I served on the board of Ameritrade and flew from Chicago to Omaha one Saturday morning to meet with Ameritrade’s founder, Joe Ricketts, and his executive team. I was back at my office at the University of Chicago before the afternoon was over. It struck me how much I could accomplish in a single day, not just in terms of meetings, but in regaining hours I’d otherwise lose to airport lines, delays, and fatigue. For an economist, the value of that time was unmistakable.

A few years later, while serving on Ameritrade’s board and living in the Boston area after taking a faculty position at Harvard University, I began accepting rides from fellow directors who owned private aircraft. These flights spared me from commercial connections and long layovers, as no direct flights between Boston and Omaha existed. More than convenience, they added something meaningful: time with my family. I could attend a meeting in Omaha and still be home to tuck my kids in. That changed how I viewed business travel entirely.

Eventually, I had to weigh the decision on my terms: was it worth it to fly private when the cost came out of my pocket? I didn’t jump into a jet card or club program. Instead, I worked with charter brokers who offered a range of aircraft and pricing. It gave me a clearer view of how the market functioned and where the inefficiencies were. I also learned that private jets aren’t immune to all the usual issues, such as bad weather, maintenance delays, and AOG events. There’s no magic shield; it’s still aviation.

In 2010, I entered fractional ownership with Flexjet, starting with a Learjet 40XR, then upgrading to the 45XR. On paper, the economics looked good. I paid an upfront purchase price for the share, paid management and hourly fees, and had guaranteed access to the aircraft. The plan was to fly 50 hours a year. But over time, the numbers stopped adding up. At the end of the five-year term, the residual value fell well short of Flexjet’s projections, not because of market weakness, but due to high fleet utilization and too many repositioning flights. The share depreciated faster than anticipated, and I reassessed whether it was worth it.

By 2014, I pivoted again—this time by buying a Cessna Citation X and leasing it to Delta Private Jets. The lease was straightforward: they paid a fixed monthly fee, provided me with a flight hour allowance, and agreed to return the aircraft in its original condition. In practice, it wasn’t so simple. Over time, issues emerged, slow responses to maintenance requests, disputes over what constituted an “equivalent” replacement aircraft, and disagreements over wear and tear. When the lease ended, the plane returned with damage far beyond what I considered acceptable. I raised concerns. They held their ground. And eventually, I took legal action. It wasn’t a decision I made lightly, but I felt it was necessary, and I prevailed.

Even then, there were other problems I chose not to litigate. Scheduled maintenance had been deferred, shifting costs back onto me just as the lease concluded. I later learned this wasn’t an isolated case. Other owners had similar stories. These kinds of frictions, between operator and owner, are far more common than most people realize. It’s a textbook case of misaligned incentives. Operators don’t bear the full cost of overuse, and owners often struggle to get clear, accurate information. Transparency is rare. Trust is fragile.

Those experiences, both good and bad, led me to launch Altivion Aviation. Our philosophy is simple: tell the truth, set realistic expectations, and over-communicate. If we make a mistake, we own it. If we expect a flight issue, we’re upfront immediately. If maintenance is required, we don’t wait for a problem to surface as we attempt to solve it early. That’s how we build trust with charter brokers and aircraft owners alike.

We don’t claim to be the best in the industry. We’re not trying to be the flashiest. NetJets remains the benchmark, and rightfully so. But not everyone has a NetJets budget. A large and growing group of clients wants quality and reliability without overpaying for prestige. That’s where we come in. We know what matters most: safe, on-time departures, and honest relationships built to last.

-Mark Mitchell
https://grandtetongroup.com/