By Zach Whitchurch
President | Wealth Advisor
Certified Private Wealth Advisor®
CFP®
It’s not every day someone asks, “Should I buy a plane?” But for clients with significant liquidity and complex lifestyles, it’s a question that does occasionally surface. And it deserves a thoughtful answer.
At Solidarity Wealth, we don’t believe our job is to approve or deny major purchases. Instead, we want to ask the right questions, ones that get to the heart of what you want out of life, and how any financial decision, plane or otherwise, supports the life you’re building.
More Than a Purchase, It’s a Lifestyle Shift
When deciding whether or not to buy a plane, there are several factors to consider: initial cost, depreciation, maintenance, staffing, insurance, and hangar fees. But at its core, this is a lifestyle decision. For some clients, it’s a decision that ultimately adds complexity more than it adds freedom.
We’ve seen clients rush into a plane purchase only to realize too late they hadn’t fully understood what it would require. Others found that sharing a plane through a fractional ownership model (while less glamorous) was a better fit for their needs and budget.
That’s why we start with the big questions:
- What’s motivating this purchase? Convenience? A sense of freedom? The appeal of skipping TSA lines and flying on your schedule?
- How does this align with your family values and life goals? Is this about enriching time with family, or creating a status symbol that enhances how others perceive you?
- Does this simplify or complicate your life? If what you’re really after is more efficiency or connection, there might be other ways to get there.
The Economics of Ownership
From an economic perspective, plane ownership is not for the faint of heart. Full ownership means handling:
- Pilot and crew compensation (often $130,000–$150,000+ annually)
- Maintenance schedules and certifications
- Insurance and liability concerns
- Depreciation and potential tax recapture on sale
There are also alternatives to take into consideration: NetJets-style shared use, fractional ownership, or even renting as needed. Each option comes with trade-offs between cost, flexibility, and availability.
Regarding taxes, yes, there can be depreciation benefits, but only in the right circumstances. Some clients are drawn to plane purchases to offset income with depreciation. But it’s important to consider the bigger picture. If you’re selling assets with long-term capital gains treatment (typically taxed at 20–23.8%) to buy a plane, and later have to recapture that depreciation at ordinary income rates (up to 37%), the math may not work in your favor.
And if the plane is later sold, that up-front benefit can quickly become a liability through ordinary income recapture. In other words, you may be trading capital gains treatment for higher ordinary income tax, and ultimately losing more than you saved.
What We’ve Seen Work
Plane ownership isn’t for everyone, but there are situations where it makes sense and can even add value to a client’s life. The difference usually comes down to clarity: clarity on finances, clarity on purpose, and clarity on how this purchase fits into the broader life picture.
When clients approach the decision with a solid understanding of what they’re buying (not just a plane, but an ongoing commitment of time, money, and complexity), they’re far more likely to be satisfied with the outcome. That means getting honest about your travel needs, assessing your financial capacity in context, and thinking through how this purchase supports, or distracts from, your long-term goals.
When the answer to “Should I buy a plane?” could be a “yes”:
- The client has significant, liquid net worth, not just on paper.
- There’s a clear, frequent need for travel.
- The decision aligns with personal values and long-term goals.
One of the most helpful frameworks we’ve heard comes from a client who said he never lets his “fun” assets (homes, boats, cars, planes) exceed 10% of his total net worth. This puts the cost of a plane into perspective. If you have $100 million, $10 million across all lifestyle assets might be perfectly reasonable. But when those discretionary assets creep up to 15%, 20%, or more, it can signal a shift toward overextension and eventually strain.
Rather than passing judgment, our goal is for you to be clear-eyed on what you can truly afford to maintain without disrupting your long-term financial stability or creating stress down the road.
Our Role As Advisors
If a client comes to us considering a plane, of course we run the numbers. But we go much deeper than that. One of our core principles at Solidarity is to listen first. We ask about family culture, parenting concerns, and lifestyle expectations. We talk through what happens when kids grow up flying private and how that shapes their worldview. We even consider the social dynamics, like whether owning a plane puts unspoken pressure on friendships or creates awkward divides at the soccer field.
When the decision is made, we step in to help structure the purchase, plan for ongoing costs, identify potential tax strategies, and coordinate the team of professionals needed to support the ownership experience.
More than just getting to the point of acquiring the plane, we help integrate the decision into a broader life plan that reflects who you are and where you’re going.
Thinking About Buying a Plane?
Maybe you’re not asking, “Should I buy a plane?” You could be asking, “Should I sell my company?” or “How do I plan for a comfortable retirement?”
Whatever season of life or stage of career you’re in, we’re here to help you think it through. From a financial perspective and a values-based one.
Let’s talk about what your big decisions might mean for your life, your family, and your future.
Contact us at info@solidaritywealth.com or 385-374-1665 to start a conversation.
About Zach
Zach Whitchurch is the President and a wealth advisor at Solidarity Wealth, a privately held, independent wealth management firm that serves as a multi-family office to some of the Mountain West’s most successful families, technology entrepreneurs, and executives. Zach works with clients to develop both “Wealthy Financial Habits” and “Healthy Financial Habits” and thrives on helping them understand their finances by simplifying the complex. He uses his broad knowledge on a wide variety of topics to implement creative strategies for clients as he helps them feel both seen and heard, and supports them along the path to their dreams.
Prior to co-founding Solidarity Wealth, Zach was a financial advisor and a senior vice president of investments at Wells Fargo. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in finance from the University of Utah and holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and Certified Private Wealth Advisor® designations. He is also a Managing Partner of Solidarity Capital. Outside of work, Zach enjoys spending time with his wife and four children and being active in both indoor and outdoor sports. He is also involved with coaching youth sports, and loves to read and learn about how the world works on a deeper level.
Solidarity Wealth is a registered investment adviser. This material is solely for informational purposes. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Solidarity Wealth and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by Solidarity Wealth unless a client service agreement is in place.
