What does it take to broker corporate jet deals?
One thing, when we're selling an airplane, people always need to know what's the history of the airplane. How do we know that the maintenance is correct, the pedigree is correct, how it's been maintained, or where it's lived—location, or in a hangar?
We actually do a lot of that groundwork before we present an airplane for a client. When they decide to buy that airplane, we get further into the details. But the fact of the matter is, once an aircraft gets put into a purchase agreement, the airplane goes into what they call a pre-purchase inspection.
That inspection rips the airplane apart from top to bottom and analyzes everything in the airplane to see that everything is airworthy. They look around for corrosion; they take the log. They go from day one, the birth of the airplane, to the current day, making sure every single detail is documented, and every part that's been changed is in there.
It's really a detailed inspection. It's actually quite expensive; depending on the airplane, it could be between $30,000 and $150,000. That's how we're sure when the airplane is ready to be delivered to the client.