Most aircraft searches start with listings. A broker sends three aircraft, an adviser mentions a fourth, and within a week the buyer is comparing specification sheets. The questions that should have decided which aircraft were worth comparing come up later, often during inspection, when changing course costs time and goodwill.
An acquisition brief puts those questions first. It is a short written document that records what the aircraft has to do, how it will be operated, what the records must show, which structure questions are still open, who decides, and how the owner expects to leave the aircraft. Price is handled separately with the buyer's advisers. The brief defines the requirement.
Written before the search, the brief gives every adviser, broker and inspector the same reference.
A search without a brief lets each listing redefine the requirement.
1. Mission profile
Start with the trips, then the aircraft category. List the routes the principal and passengers expect to fly in the first years of ownership, and the airports at each end.
The brief should record:
- the routes that define the mission, including the longest sector the aircraft must fly without a stop
- typical and maximum passenger numbers, baggage and any special items carried
- airports where runway length, elevation or temperature will limit take-off performance
- expected annual utilisation, stated as a range
- cabin requirements that are fixed, such as a separate rest area, and those that are preferences
The split between requirements and preferences pays off later. An aircraft that meets every requirement and misses a preference can be judged quickly. An aircraft that misses a requirement comes off the list before anyone commissions an inspection.
2. Operating regime
How the aircraft will be operated decides which rules apply, and those rules affect equipment, crew, maintenance and records. Settle the intended regime before searching.
The first question is whether the aircraft will fly only for the owner or will also be offered for charter. Regulators treat these differently. In the EU, Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 of 5 October 2012 separates commercial air transport (Part-CAT) from non-commercial operations with complex motor-powered aircraft (Part-NCC, added by Regulation (EU) No 800/2013 of 14 August 2013). In the United States, 14 CFR Part 135 governs on-demand operations by holders of an air carrier or operating certificate issued under Part 119 (§ 135.1, eCFR, read 30 October 2026). Other authorities draw the line in their own rules.
The brief should record:
- intended use: owner only, managed with charter, or undecided
- the likely state of registration and the operator's authority, flagged for advisers if still open
- the regions the aircraft will fly in regularly, so equipment can be checked against each
- the crew model: dedicated crew, management-company crew, or to be decided
An aircraft that suits private use may need further work, approvals or documents before it can be added to a commercial operator's certificate. Deciding the regime early keeps the buyer from choosing an aircraft set up for a different one. For the wider shift in scrutiny of routing, border data and records, see The margin for informal operations is gone.
3. Records and maintenance programme expectations
Set the records standard before the first logbooks arrive. If the standard is set afterwards, it tends to bend towards the aircraft on offer.
The brief should record:
- whether continuous maintenance records back to new are required, and how gaps will be treated
- engine and APU programme expectations: enrolled, not enrolled, or acceptable with a price adjustment
- whether a heavy inspection falling inside the planned holding period is acceptable
- which damage history the buyer will accept, and what repair documentation must support it
- how the buyer's technical adviser needs to receive records, for example scanned logbooks or access to the maintenance-tracking system
This is the section buyers most often leave vague, and it is the section the next buyer will test hardest. Our article on the documentation premium explains how records affect liquidity.
4. Structure questions for advisers
Ownership and operating structure are legal and tax matters, and the brief does not settle them. It lists them, so the buyer's lawyers and tax advisers can answer them before an offer is made instead of between signing and closing.
The brief should record the open questions:
- which entity will own the aircraft, and in which jurisdiction
- who will hold operational control: the owner, a management company or an operator
- how any financing affects registration, insurance and permitted use
- how costs will be shared if more than one party uses the aircraft
- who on the buyer's side can approve each answer
Check who is giving each answer. If one firm will sell, manage and operate the aircraft, read One-stop shop or independent experts before deciding who represents the buyer.
5. Inspection and decision path
Agree how decisions will be made before there is an aircraft to decide on. Under deal pressure, an undefined process defaults to whoever is most available.
The brief should record:
- who reviews listings, and who can reject an aircraft without escalating
- the inspection scope the buyer expects, and who chooses the inspection facility
- who receives findings and who decides how discrepancies are handled
- the conditions under which the buyer will walk away
- everyone who must approve the purchase, and how long each approval usually takes
The last point is often missing. A seller's timetable assumes the buyer can sign once terms are agreed. If a board or family office must approve, the brief should say so, and the buyer's representative should say so in the first conversation with the seller's side.
6. Exit thinking
State the expected holding period and the likely next buyer. A buyer expecting to sell within a few years should weight liquidity, records and broad market appeal more heavily than one planning a long hold.
The brief should record:
- the expected holding period, as a range
- changes in mission or circumstances that would trigger a sale or replacement
- specifications and modifications to avoid because they narrow the resale market
We covered this in more depth in Before you buy the jet, know how you will exit it.
Using the brief during the search
Once written, the brief does practical work.
Every aircraft presented is checked against the requirements before anyone spends time on it, and a rejection can be explained in one line.
Brokers can be given the sections they need without the principal's identity. When several intermediaries present the same aircraft, one brief makes their proposals easier to compare. See When several aircraft brokers lead to the same buyer.
Inspectors and technical advisers receive the records standard in writing before they start.
If the mission or structure changes during the search, update the brief and date the change. Everyone then works from the same version.
Start with the brief
If you are planning an aircraft acquisition, Glintero can work through the brief with you before the first listing arrives. Every enquiry is handled personally and in confidence. Talk to Glintero about your acquisition brief.
Image credits. Cover: Cabin of a Gulfstream G550 at EBACE 2018, Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Operating regime: Cockpit of a Bombardier Global 6000 at EBACE 2019, Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Using the brief: Cockpit windshield of a Bombardier Global 6000 at the Paris Air Show 2013, Olivier Cleynen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Records illustration generated for Glintero.
