The Top Mistakes Jet Owners Make — And How They Can Cost Millions

Owning a private jet is one of life’s greatest privileges — but it’s also a serious responsibility. Too often, owners make decisions that seem to save money in the short term, but end up costing millions in maintenance, downtime, and lost aircraft value.

At Pulse Aero Group, we’ve seen these mistakes firsthand. Below are some of the most common — and most expensive — pitfalls jet owners face, and how to avoid them.

Mistake # 1: Choosing Fractional Ownership to Save on Taxes

Fractional models can look attractive on paper. A tax break here, a lower entry cost there — it feels like you’re saving hundreds of thousands. But the hidden costs come later.

When you hand over maintenance and troubleshooting to a large fractional operator, you also give up control over diagnosis and decision-making. And when problems aren’t straightforward, misdiagnosis is common. That can mean six-figure parts replacements that don’t even solve the issue.

Just last month,  a major factory-backed repair shop diagnosed an APU intermittent starting issue as a failed electronic control unit — a $125,000 part. I pushed back and had them run a voltage check at the starter solenoid. The real culprit? A starter generator failure. Cost of replacement: $8,000. I have worked on these APUs enough to know an ecu is a very unusual failure, yet it’s very common for ecu to come up as the error code where the maintenance manual will call for its replacement. 

That’s over $117,000 saved in a single instance — and more importantly, the problem was actually fixed.

Without aircraft-specific expertise, fractional owners and big maintenance providers often throw expensive parts at an issue until something works. If you’re not careful, this can quietly drain millions over the life of your jet.

Mistake # 2: Skimping on Hangar Protection

Another all-too-common mistake is saving a few thousand dollars by avoiding hangar costs at high-risk airports. On the surface, it feels like a minor expense to cut — but in reality, it can be one of the costliest decisions you’ll ever make.

Consider hail season in Tornado Alley. Or winter operations in Aspen. Parking a Citation X on the ramp there is a gamble. De-icing alone adds up quickly — and that’s before you consider the risk of snow accumulation on the tail, which can literally tip the aircraft backward. That type of incident leads to long downtime, costly repairs, and a permanent damage history that severely reduces resale value.

By contrast, repositioning to a nearby airport like Gunnison and investing in hangar space is a fraction of the cost — and it protects both your asset and your aircraft’s market value.

The Bottom Line

Private jets are multi-million-dollar assets. Protecting that value requires smart, informed decision-making and aircraft-specific expertise. The wrong choice on maintenance or hangar protection doesn’t just create a bigger bill today — it can diminish your aircraft’s long-term value and reliability.

At Pulse Aero Group, our mission is to prevent these costly mistakes. By combining deep technical experience with a proactive approach to asset protection, we save our clients millions while keeping their aircraft safe, reliable, and ready to fly.