Register

Aircraft Repositioning: Ferry Services and More

Sara Rovner, proprietor of Full Throttle Aviation, in an immersion suit at a stop while ferrying a Piper Turbo Saratoga over the North Atlantic to Europe from the U.S.

It happens—you need to have your airplane moved from one airport to another, but you simply can’t do it when the need arises. The good news is that there are lots of options available to you. Depending on the specific needs of the move involved, those options can range from surprisingly reasonable to breathtakingly expensive. As we researched professional aircraft ferry services, we were impressed at the number of operators offering such services as we’ll as the extent to which some operators were willing to customize their service to meet the needs of a customer.

UNREGULATED

Before we go further, it’s important to understand that aircraft ferry services are not regulated by the FAA beyond the basic requirements that the pilot be appropriately rated for the aircraft. FAR Part 119.1(e) excludes ferry flights from the requirement that a for-hire commercial operator hold a commercial operating certificate and be regulated as an air carrier—so ferry flights of most general aviation airplanes are operated under Part 91 of the regs.

Rick Durden

Senior Editor Rick Durden has written for Aviation Consumer since 1994 and specializes in aviation law. Rick is an active CFII and holds an ATP with type ratings in the Douglas DC-3 and Cessna Citation. He is the author of The Thinking Pilot’s Flight Manual or, How to Survive Flying Little Airplanes and Have a Ball Doing It, Vols. 1 & 2.