What a family office should ask before booking.

The first question shouldn't be which aircraft is available. It should be who will actually fly this — legally and operationally. That question forces the broker to separate their commercial role from the direct air carrier's, and it sets up everything else: authority, insurance, operational control.

Eight questions that reveal the process

### 1. Who is the direct carrier? Ask for the legal name, certificate number, country of registration, and the contracting entity. A commercial brand or a platform name isn't necessarily the operator.

### 2. What document authorizes this flight? In the United States, confirm the Part 135 certificate and that the aircraft sits within the applicable OpSpecs. The FAA maintains a searchable list by operator and tail number.

### 3. Who holds operational control? The answer has to name who releases the flight, controls the crew, decides whether it operates, and manages operational changes. "The broker coordinates everything" doesn't answer this.

### 4. How were the crew and aircraft verified? Ask for the method, not necessarily irrelevant personal details. There should be a check of licenses, type rating, experience, currency, training, airworthiness, and maintenance.

### 5. What independent audit is currently active? Distinguish ARGUS, Wyvern, and IS-BAO by program and level. NBAA recommends reviewing independent audits of the operator, aircraft, and crew, alongside the certificate, the D085, economic authority, and insurance.

### 6. What coverage applies? Ask for a current COI: insured party, covered aircraft, dates, limits, relevant exclusions, and whether additional-insured status is available if the client's own counsel wants it. The COI is a summary of evidence; it doesn't replace reading the policy terms.

### 7. What happens if the aircraft changes? Approval should cover substitution of tail number, crew, operator, routing, permits, and insurance. The client should know who authorizes a change and when they can decline it without a disproportionate penalty.

### 8. How are incidents and the response documented? "No accidents" isn't enough on its own. Ask how incidents, regulatory findings, and corrective actions are reviewed. The quality of a system shows in how it learns from deviations.

What a good answer looks like

A professional broker shouldn't feel threatened by these questions. They can protect confidential data, but they should be able to explain the process, share relevant documents, and say "not yet verified" when a data point isn't available. A fast answer with no documentation behind it is worth less than an incomplete answer that clearly flags what's still pending.

It's worth turning the answers into a per-flight file: operator, tail number, authority, audit, crew, insurance, contract, permits, and any changes. That prevents diligence done for one operator from being reused, incorrectly, for a different aircraft or date.