Updated . Educational only — not tax, legal, or lending advice. Confirm figures with your CPA, the state revenue department, and a lender before you close.
The Part 135 Certificate and the Delivery Date Do Not Match
A startup charter does not get a charter loan because the business plan says “Part 135.” It gets a loan the lender can service if the certificate slips. Timing is the short version on certificate timing versus delivery.
The order of events lenders prefer
- People who have already run a 135 operation, not a first-time management team learning both the airplane and the certificate.
- A certificate that is already effective, or a documented path with the FAA that does not depend on this loan closing first.
- Contracts or a realistic pipeline. A spreadsheet of “expected hours” is not a contract.
- Insurance for commercial use, bound to the certificate holder.
- Cash reserves that cover several months of debt, crew, and maintenance if the first trips slip.
Structures that show up when the certificate is not ready
Some buyers take a personal or Part 91 loan, operate privately, and refinance into a commercial facility after the certificate is live. That only works if the first lender allows the later change of use and the second lender wants the aircraft. Others lease the aircraft from a party who can carry it, which moves the residual risk off the startup and the startup should not pretend they own the upside. A bridge that assumes charter revenue will make the first three payments is the structure that fails.
Model the payment with zero charter revenue in the calculator. If that payment is not survivable, the business does not yet support the aircraft.
Questions buyers actually ask
Will SBA financing cover a charter aircraft?
Sometimes, under programs and size standards that change, and not for every aircraft use. Read SBA 7(a) and 504 notes and then ask an SBA lender. It is not a fallback you can assume.
Can the management company be the borrower?
It can if it has the financials. A management agreement alone does not make the manager the credit.