Liftbrief / Scorecard
How should a family office stress-test a jet card or membership renewal?
Replay actual missions through the proposed agreement, then test what changes when usage or timing differs. Do not select a programme solely from an annual-hours rule of thumb.
Request the complete agreement, price schedule, service-area definitions, peak calendar, incorporated policies and amendments. Build this proposed test matrix:
| Test | Question the model should answer |
|---|---|
| Historical replay | What would the last 12 months of actual missions have cost under these precise terms? |
| Lower usage | At an illustrative 70% of expected demand, what expires, carries over or becomes refundable? |
| Higher usage | At an illustrative 130%, what top-ups, availability limits or pricing changes apply? |
| Peak-date concentration | Which required trips have longer notice, surcharges, restrictions or exclusions? |
| Short-leg concentration | How do minimums, taxi allowances and rounding alter billable hours? |
| Larger-party travel | What aircraft interchange, upgrade or supplemental-charter charges apply? |
| Disruption | Which remedies apply to programme aircraft and third-party replacement flights? |
| Exit | What notice, valuation, fees, repayment timing and continuing obligations apply? |
The 70% and 130% scenarios are modelling choices, not forecasts.
Private Jet Center’s published September 2025 terms illustrate the need for clause-level review: they add 12 minutes per leg for taxi time, apply minimum charging provisions and address surrender or conditional retention of unused hours. Analyse the applicable agreement rather than assuming an advertised hour equals an hour airborne or that unused hours automatically retain their value. Confirm whether that published version applies to the actual offer. (privatejetcenter.com)
How do you avoid counting prepaid money twice?
Maintain separate cash, consumption and remaining-exposure schedules.
Illustrative example only:
| Item | USD |
|---|---|
| Programme funding paid | 250,000 |
| Membership fee paid separately | 15,000 |
| Additional trip charges paid separately | 10,000 |
| Cash paid | 275,000 |
| Flight charges deducted from programme funding | 200,000 |
| Unused programme balance | 50,000 |
| Services consumed plus separately paid fees and charges | 225,000 |
Do not add the USD 250,000 funding and USD 200,000 of flight deductions as though both were separate expenditure.
If the remaining USD 50,000 is forfeited, the buyer has paid USD 275,000 without retaining that balance. If it remains genuinely usable or is refunded, show that separately. These are procurement calculations, not accounting or tax conclusions.
How should prepaid exposure affect the score?
Ask who holds the funds, what permits withdrawal, whether any custody or protection arrangement is independently evidenced, and what remedies apply if services are not delivered. Do not assume a refund promise, separate account or use of the word escrow establishes recovery in insolvency; obtain counsel’s assessment of the actual arrangement.
As an example of why counterparty review belongs in procurement, Wheels Up’s FY2025 filing identifies future service obligations funded by customer advances and the need for sufficient working capital to meet obligations. That historical disclosure is a diligence prompt, not a conclusion about its current creditworthiness. Review subsequent disclosures before making a live decision. (sec.gov)
For fractional access, obtain a separate capital-and-exit model. NetJets’ published cost explanation distinguishes the acquisition cost, monthly management fee and occupied hourly fee. Our recommended comparison additionally shows the assumed net exit proceeds, transaction costs and financing or opportunity-cost assumptions—without counting both the full capital purchase and depreciation as the same economic cost. (netjets.com)