The first question a new aircraft owner asks when researching management companies is not about your fleet, your hangar, or your years in business. It is about regulatory structure: "Should I put my aircraft under Part 91 or Part 135 management?"
If your website does not answer that question, the owner finds someone who does. And in the low-volume, high-value world of aircraft management — where each placed aircraft can represent hundreds of thousands in annual revenue — losing that first research conversation means losing the contract.
We have been looking at how aircraft management companies handle this question across the sites we audit, and the pattern is consistent: most explain their services thoroughly but skip the structural decision entirely. Owners are left to research Part 91 versus Part 135 on their own, and the management company that should be guiding them is absent from the conversation.
Here is what owners are actually looking for, and how your content can be the thing they find.
What Part 91 and Part 135 Actually Mean for an Owner
For pilots and operators, this is familiar ground. But for a first-time aircraft owner — the person who just bought a Citation XLS or a King Air 350 after a liquidity event — the distinction is not obvious. They know they own an aircraft. They do not necessarily know that the regulatory structure under which it is managed determines everything from crew qualifications to maintenance intervals to whether the aircraft can earn charter revenue.
Part 91 governs private, non-commercial operations. The owner flies the aircraft for personal or business use. No charter. No paying passengers. Crew requirements are lower (a CPL is sufficient for many operations, no ATPL required). Maintenance follows a manufacturer inspection programme but without the additional Part 135 maintenance task requirements.
Part 135 governs commercial on-demand operations. The aircraft is available for charter under the management company's Air Operator Certificate. Crew must meet Part 135 training and duty-time requirements. Maintenance must comply with the more frequent Part 135 inspection intervals, which typically cost more per cycle. In exchange, the aircraft generates charter revenue that can offset ownership costs — sometimes substantially.
The hybrid model — where an aircraft operates Part 91 for the owner and is placed on the Part 135 certificate when the owner is not using it — is the most common structure for owners who want charter revenue offset. It is also the structure that requires the most explanation, because the owner needs to understand crew availability, charter utilisation expectations, and how the management company handles scheduling conflicts.
Why This Question Is a Marketing Problem, Not Just a Regulatory One
Aircraft management is sold through trust, clarity, and economics. The owner is placing a multi-million-dollar asset in your care. The first test of whether they can trust you with that asset is whether your website demonstrates that you understand their decision — not just your services.
When we audit management company sites for the aircraft management marketing work we do, the most common gap is not missing service descriptions. It is missing decision frameworks. The site tells the owner what the company does, but not what the owner should be deciding.
The Part 91 versus Part 135 question is the perfect example. An owner searching for "Part 91 vs Part 135 aircraft management" or "charter revenue from managed aircraft" is in the early research phase. They are weeks away from phoning a management company. If your site is the one that explains the trade-offs — compliance costs, crew availability, revenue potential, the transition path — you are the one they phone when they are ready.
If you want to understand how search behaviour maps to the owner journey for management companies specifically, our aircraft management SEO guide breaks down the keyword clusters and research stages.
What Owners Are Actually Researching
When an owner starts the management research journey, their searches fall into three phases:
Phase 1 — Structure decision. "Part 91 vs Part 135 management." "Can I charter my aircraft." "How much charter revenue from a Citation." These are the questions that determine whether the owner is looking for pure asset management (Part 91) or management plus charter revenue offset (Part 135 or hybrid).
Phase 2 — Provider evaluation. "Aircraft management company [region]." "[Aircraft type] management." "Aircraft management fee structure." The owner has decided on a structure and is now shortlisting providers. They are looking for proof that the management company handles their aircraft type, operates in their region, and is transparent about fees.
Phase 3 — Commercial validation. "Aircraft management contract terms." "What does aircraft management include." "Management vs fractional ownership." The owner is close to a decision and is validating the commercial terms. This is where fee transparency, contract flexibility, and operational reporting matter most.
Most management company websites are built for Phase 2 and Phase 3. They list services, show the fleet, explain the management agreement. Almost none address Phase 1 — the structural decision that determines whether the owner even needs to keep reading.
Building the Part 91 vs Part 135 Decision Page
The content that wins Phase 1 research is not a generic "our services" page. It is a decision framework that helps the owner understand which structure fits their situation before they have spoken to anyone.
A strong Part 91 vs Part 135 comparison page covers:
Compliance differences. Part 135 maintenance intervals are shorter and more costly. Crew training requirements are more frequent. Drug and alcohol programmes are mandatory. The owner needs to understand the cost differential before deciding.
Revenue potential. A Part 135-managed aircraft can generate charter revenue when the owner is not using it. That revenue depends on aircraft type, base location, market demand, and the management company's broker relationships. Give the owner a realistic range, not a promise.
Crew availability. Under Part 135, the crew assigned to the owner's aircraft may also fly charter trips. That means the owner's preferred crew is not always available. Under Part 91, the crew is dedicated. This is a lifestyle question, not just a commercial one.
The transition path. Many owners start Part 91 and move to Part 135 after a year. Explain what that transition involves — additional maintenance, crew training updates, AOC amendment — so the owner sees the flexibility rather than feeling locked into one structure.
Aircraft-type specifics. A Citation XLS on the Part 135 charter market has different utilisation economics than a Pilatus PC-12 or a King Air 350. Owners researching by aircraft type need content that speaks to their specific aircraft, not a generic comparison table.
Want an aviation marketing specialist to look at this for your operation? Get a free aviation marketing audit at offthegroundmarketing.com.
The Content That Supports the Decision Page
One comparison page is the anchor. But owners research across multiple sessions, often over weeks. The supporting content needs to address the questions that branch off from the main decision:
- Charter revenue expectations by aircraft type
- Part 135 maintenance cost differential versus Part 91
- How management companies handle scheduling conflicts between owner use and charter
- Crew sourcing and retention for Part 135 operations
- The tax and depreciation implications of Part 91 vs Part 135 ownership
Each of these is a blog post or resource page that links back to the main decision page and the aircraft management marketing hub. The owner researching charter revenue for their specific aircraft type finds that post, reads the comparison framework, and enters the management company's orbit during Phase 1 — not Phase 3.
That is the difference between a site that competes for "aircraft management company [city]" against five other management companies with identical service pages, and a site that owns the research conversation before the shortlist is formed.
The Common Mistake: Treating Part 91 and Part 135 as the Same Audience
The management companies whose sites we review most often make one structural error: they write for a single audience. The service page describes "aircraft management" without distinguishing between the owner who wants pure Part 91 management and the owner who wants Part 135 charter revenue offset.
Those are different buyers with different questions, different timelines, and different revenue profiles. A Part 91 owner is evaluating asset protection, maintenance management, and crew sourcing. A Part 135-interested owner is evaluating charter revenue potential, broker relationships, and revenue-share terms. Mixing these audiences on one page means neither gets their questions answered, and both bounce.
The fix is structural: dedicated content for each audience, linked from a comparison page that helps the owner identify which path they are on. The comparison page is the routing mechanism. The sub-pages are the depth.
What This Looks Like in Practice
A management company that handles Citation, King Air, and Pilatus types would have:
- A Part 91 vs Part 135 comparison page — the Phase 1 anchor
- Aircraft-type-specific management pages — "Citation XLS Management," "King Air 350 Management," "PC-12 Management" — each addressing the charter revenue and compliance specifics for that type
- Supporting blog content — charter revenue benchmarks, maintenance cost comparisons, crew scheduling, transition guides
- Fee structure transparency — because the owner who has understood the Part 91/135 decision is ready for the commercial conversation, and that is where transparency wins
This is not a content volume play. It is a content precision play. One well-structured comparison page, three aircraft-type pages, and a handful of supporting posts will outperform a site with fifty generic management articles that never address the structural decision.
Ready to see how your management company's site handles the Part 91 vs Part 135 question? Request a proposal — we only work with aviation businesses, and the first thing we look at is what your owner research journey actually looks like.
Related
- Sector hub: Aircraft Management Marketing
- Related services: Aircraft Management SEO · Aircraft Management Website Design · Google Ads for Aircraft Management
- Related guides: Aircraft Management Marketing Guide · Aircraft Management Lead Generation · Aircraft Management Company Website Must-Haves · Charter Revenue Positioning for Aircraft Management · Fee Transparency Marketing: Trusting Aircraft Owners
Sources & further reading
- FAA — Part 91 General Operating and Flight Rules
- FAA — Part 135 Commuter and On-Demand Operations
- CASA — Air Operator's Certificate (AOC)
- NBAA — Aircraft Management resources
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