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There's a picture of the aircraft broker life that lives in the popular imagination, shaped largely by Instagram, TikTok and social media.
Lunches at 40,000 feet and constantly being whisked from private terminal to private car in each new city. A signed contract before noon. Conversations with people whose names appear on buildings. Closings on Friday so the buyer can fly the airplane home for the weekend.
Yes, a version of this life exists, but only in brief moments across a much longer process. The actual work of an aircraft broker, done well, looks much different.
You spend most of your day on the phone, not in front of an airplane. You listen, act and guide buyers or sellers in a business that, in many parts of the world, operates completely without any formal guidelines.You read logbooks that are decades old, written in the hand of mechanics who have long since retired. You make and take calls from a mix of industry professionals you've known for years, while also being comfortable answering calls—at all hours—from numbers you've never seen before.You absorb other people's stress and try not to add to it. You wait through quiet weeks when the market doesn't cooperate. And more often than the romantic version suggests, your work continues even when you try to step away for a vacation.After 25 years and a large number of transactions, what becomes clear is that the part of the job that pays isn't the part that defines it. So if you're considering this profession—or thinking about hiring an aircraft broker—this is the article I wish I had read early on.The Life of an Aircraft Broker from the Inside
The first thing to understand is that aircraft brokerage is, in most of the world, unregulated. There's no exam to pass. There's no license to maintain. There's no governing body that can revoke your ability to practice.The reality is, you can call yourself an aircraft broker on Monday with no experience and begin representing buyers and sellers on Tuesday.
Organizations like the International Aircraft Dealers Association have established standards for those who choose to align with them, and a smaller accredited group formally commits to that framework. Many others operate without it.
That structure shapes the business in ways that take time to fully appreciate. Anyone can claim a track record. Anyone can claim a relationship. Anyone can say they specialize in a model they have transacted on once or twice.
And because clients rarely know how to verify these claims at first glance, the industry sustains a quiet ecosystem of people whose primary product is confidence rather than expertise.
Operating with a consistent standard becomes a conscious decision over time, shaped by experience and by the type of relationships one wants to build.
The Skills That Really Matter Aren't Taught in School
I've had the opportunity to speak with many people interested in entering this industry. When they ask what makes a good aircraft broker, they often expect to hear about market knowledge, technical understanding, or a strong network.
Those skills matter. They are also foundational. They do not, however, sustain a career. The skills that do matter are less visible.1. The first is judgment.
Most of the calls that come into a brokerage are not real opportunities. The buyer who calls on Dec. 1, insisting he will close in 30 days, then resists every detail required to get that done, is not a buyer.
The seller who wants the highest price in the market without acknowledging the condition of their aircraft is not yet ready to sell. Early in a career, it's natural to pursue these conversations. Over time, patterns become easier to recognize, and that time is allocated differently.2. The second is patience.
Aircraft transactions move on the timeline of the people involved—not on yours. A serious buyer may take months to define what they need before they're ready to act. A seller may wait through a softer market for the right buyer rather than adjust quickly.
In either case, the timeline isn't yours to control. The goal isn't to move the process faster. It's to keep it aligned with the client's objectives, so that when a decision is made, it holds.
3. The third is the ability to say no.
No skill in this business is harder to develop, and none is more important. Each no you say to a misaligned opportunity creates space for the right yes that may come next week.
Many people in sales struggle with this, particularly early on, when any activity feels like progress.
4. The fourth is restraint.
There's often a temptation to fill the silence, to over-explain or to push a decision forward. But if you want to leave a lasting impression on experienced principals, it's best to hold back.
Restraint is a discipline developed over time—the ability to stay quiet, give a client space to think and allow a conclusion to form naturally.
What Separates the Careers That Last from Those That Don'tMany people who enter the aircraft brokerage industry begin in market research roles and work toward positions closer to the client. When they move into aircraft sales, they often find that the income is non-linear, with no salary to rely on when the cycle slows.
The market, of course, moves in cycles.
And unlike what you see on social media, the work of a broker is more administrative and far less visible than expected. Meanwhile, the skills that determine long-term success—listening, filtering and patience—are rarely taught directly. The careers that endure tend to share a few characteristics:• A long memory for relationships. The buyer you worked with in 2008 may be the seller who calls in 2026 and the conversation should feel continuous. The fellow researcher you helped early in your career may be the one who later provides the comp that shapes how you read your market.
• A short memory for slights. The industry is small. Walk the floor of NBAA-BACE with a seasoned broker and watch how often they get stopped, how many people they greet by name and how few they do not know. Holding a grudge is expensive in ways that take years to calculate.
• Curiosity that does not fade. Aircraft evolve, avionics change and market conditions shift. What's current today will be outdated sooner than most expect. The advisors who remain effective tend to treat learning as an ongoing responsibility, continually refining their understanding of the market, the equipment, and the people they serve.
• Restraint with opinions. Another characteristic that shapes durable careers is knowing when to speak and when not to. The brokers who tend to last are confident enough to share a perspective but disciplined enough to let the client arrive at their own conclusion.
• Willingness to be wrong in front of a client. Often, the least visible but most defining characteristic is the ability to acknowledge when something was missed and adjust your recommendation as new information changes the picture. Those moments tend to matter more than any closing statistic.
Why I Would Still Do It Again
For all of it, I would.
The opportunity to help a family choose the aircraft that will serve them for years is meaningful. The relationships that develop over decades are real. And, the satisfaction of seeing a transaction come together in a way that aligns with a client's needs—not just the market—is lasting.
As you can see, the work of a broker is different from the version often portrayed. It's more demanding, less visible and more dependent on judgment than most expect. But the rewards tend to run deeper. So, if you're still considering this profession, it helps to understand that early.
The work that defines a career in aircraft brokerage is not the work that pays. It's the work that builds the trust that allows the work that pays to be done well.
And, if you're an aircraft owner or future buyer who's considering hiring a broker, many of the same qualities apply. Look for specificity over enthusiasm, patience over urgency and sound judgment over momentum. And pay close attention to their willingness to step away when something isn't aligned.
Strip away the noise and gloss of social media, and a pattern emerges. The right people, on either side of the table, are usually easier to recognize than the industry suggests.
Mike Mikolay, with 25+ years in business aviation, has facilitated 950 aircraft transactions worth more than $14 billion. The founder and CEO of Mikolay Jet Group, he has held key roles in reputable aviation organizations, including serving as a senior executive at one of the world's top three brokerage and consulting firms.