Start an Aircraft Ferry and Delivery Flight Service

1. 1

   Know exactly what kind of flying this is

   Ferry and delivery flights are typically flown under general operating rules for the owner or buyer, not as commercial air transportation, which is why they do not require an air carrier certificate the way charter does. The line matters enormously: carrying passengers or cargo for compensation is charter territory requiring a Part 135 certificate. Understand where your work sits, keep it there, and get legal advice on your specific arrangement before you advertise.

2. 2

   Build the credential and experience profile insurers accept

   The practical requirement is a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating, current medical, and meaningful time in make and model, because the aircraft owner's insurer sets the open pilot warranty or must approve you by name. Multi-engine, high-performance, tailwheel, and turbine experience each open a tier of work. Your logbook is your sales document in this business.

3. 3

   Sort insurance before your first flight

   You need non-owned aircraft liability coverage of your own, and you need to confirm in writing that the owner's policy covers you for the specific flight. This is the single most common way informal ferry arrangements go wrong. Owners handing over a valuable airplane will ask, and the pilot who answers with documentation gets the job.

4. 4

   Sell to the people who move airplanes constantly

   Your customers are aircraft brokers and dealers delivering sold aircraft, buyers taking possession, banks and repossession specialists, flight schools and clubs relocating aircraft, maintenance and paint facilities needing aircraft brought in and returned, and manufacturers moving new deliveries. Introduce yourself where they are: broker networks, maintenance facilities, type clubs, and aviation trade groups.

5. 5

   Price by the day with the reality of weather built in

   Quote a day rate plus expenses (fuel, oil, landing and handling fees, lodging, and airline travel to reach the aircraft or get home), with weather days billed at a reduced standby rate. Long-distance and international ferries are quoted as projects with permits, survival equipment, and possibly ferry tanks and a special flight permit. Never let schedule pressure from a customer become a weather decision; that is the safety and business risk in one.

6. 6

   Run it like a professional operation

   A written agreement covering scope, rates, expenses, weather delays, and liability; a documented pre-ferry inspection with the owner or a mechanic, especially on aircraft that have been sitting; photographs of the aircraft's condition at pickup and delivery; and a communication habit that keeps the customer informed. Aircraft in transit are somebody's largest asset, and calm professionalism is the whole reputation.

7. 7

   Add the services that travel with the airplane

   Natural extensions are checkout and transition instruction for the new owner at delivery, aircraft acceptance support at the factory or seller, positioning and management flying for owners, and long-distance or international ferry work at premium rates once your experience and permits support it. Instruction credentials pair unusually well with this business, because the buyer who just took delivery usually needs training in the airplane you delivered.

Do not take our word for the money. Put your own numbers in and see what this idea has to earn before it works. Free, instant, no account needed.

Best for: Experienced commercial pilots who like solving logistics and travel light

Not for: Anyone without commercial pilot credentials, category time, and insurer approval. This rewards experienced commercial pilots who like solving logistics and travel light.