Among the most pressing considerations is what kind of ownership structure to use even before you start thinking of how to finance it.

Mary Schwartz, global head of aircraft finance for Citi Global Wealth Management, said a good way to determine the ownership structure was to look at usage. She recommends that clients ask themselves three questions, namely: 'How many hours a year do I spend flying? How far do I fly? And how many passengers do I need to carry?'

As a rule of thumb, for 100 to 200 hours of annual flying time, a fractional share in an aircraft is recommended.

For usage of 200 to 400 hours, the decision should be based on the client's personal financial situation, and for more than 400 hours usage per annum full ownership is recommended.

From here the next step is to consider how to finance the deal. While some individuals will happily pay for their jets outright, many look at a lease or a loan arrangement, so as not to put a huge dent in their capital base.

There are a number of leasing options open to buyers such as an operating lease where the aircraft never appears on the client's books, or a finance lease where the client owns the asset after the leasing period. Alternatively there is the loan option.

'A loan, we find, seems to be more appealing to high-net-worth clients,' said Ms Schwartz. 'The reasons for this are mainly flexibility. With a lease you are locked in for 10 years, while with a loan you can get in or out any time you want.'

'This is especially true for high-end products like corporate jets which maintain their value very well, and if you sell you benefit from the residual upside.'

Chris Buchholz, chief executive of the Hong Kong Aviation Group, said another important consideration to factor in when buying an aircraft was who was going to finance your deal?

The two options include approaching a specialist lender that focuses on aviation such as GE Capital and RBS among others, or alternatively go to a high street bank, with pros and cons existing for either approach.

'If you go to a specialist they may not have the lowest cost of funding, but they are very good at pricing the aircraft which in turn means you pay a lower rate,' said Mr Buchholz. 'In addition, specialists can also offer you greater flexibility in how you structure the deal.

'On the other hand, if you go to a normal bank they may not be able to price the asset as accurately, but you will get a fantastic rate because it is name lending. They know who you are and so there is no additional disclosure.

'With the specialist you will need to open up your books and create a new relationship, and not everyone is comfortable doing this.'

Another important element stressed by aviation experts was the need for specialist advice when financing your deal.

Mr Buchholz recommends finding a law firm that specialises in corporate aviation as it differs greatly from airline aviation.

An important part of this was to determine what was the best structure for the aircraft in terms of tax, and to advise on compliance with the various civil aviation regulations in different jurisdictions, said Guy Facey, a partner at Withers Hong Kong.

'The classic financing here is you put the ownership in a Hong Kong company. You might think that owners would create complicated tax structures to avoid paying Hong Kong tax, but once you factor in the depreciation [on the asset] and expense back the interest costs, it would be unlikely that the Hong Kong company would have taxable profits,' Mr Facey said.

'There is also a regulatory issue, because to base a private jet in Hong Kong it has to be registered on the Hong Kong aircraft register and the registered owner can only be a Hong Kong or Chinese company or a Hong Kong resident.'

At the end of the day, regardless of how they finance it, buyers need to be aware that an aircraft is an expensive piece of equipment, and not an asset.

Mr Buchholz said: 'If you look at corporate aviation over the past 40 years, in general buying an aircraft is never an investment from a pure financial perspective, especially in Asia where running costs are significantly higher than in the United States.

'However, it does make sense if you see it as a tool that helps you generate value in terms of saving a lot of time.'