Owning an aircraft can be highly beneficial to a business and
its owners. Having the flexibility to quickly and efficiently visit
clients and attend meetings across the country is just one of the
many reasons that an aircraft can be a smart investment. There is,
however, a very basic rule about aircraft operation that many
aircraft owners and operators ignore or are unaware of.
Aircraft-Only Company Can be an FAA-Regulated "Flight
Department Company"
Many business aircraft are owned through a limited liability
company – or corporation or other form of organization
– that has no other significant assets and no other business
activities. A company whose sole asset is an aircraft and whose
sole activity is flying (or "operating") that aircraft is
known as a "flight department company," and the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) views a flight department company as
operating a commercial air charter service subject to regulation as
such (and not under the more
