Aircraft Registration:
Choose Wisely Before You Buy

by RANA Director Brian T Richards, published in ‘JET Asia-Pacific’ magazine, issue 21

The decision on where to register an aircraft is perhaps as important as which aircraft to buy. There is quite simply no ‘best’ or ‘one size fits all’ registration. What will work for one owner will not work for another. What is important to one owner will not be of great concern to another. Owners are often asked two fundamental questions; the answers they provide become key pointers in helping advise on the right jurisdiction for registration. These two questions are: How will the aircraft be used? and where will it operate?

If an owner intends to make the aircraft available to third parties, this counts as commercial use and is not permitted by most offshore registries including the Isle of Man. On the other hand, some jurisdictions such as Malta actively promote the registration of aircraft to be used for ‘hire and reward’ and indeed encourages the establishment of such commercial operations. More…