Hi to all, It may seem like an annoying question asked by a dreamer, however I am completly new to this and really have no idea! Please, humor me if you will. Cost... To buy a midsize jet I am budgeting around £3-4m, but what should I expect to pay for maintanence, fuel, pilot, cabin crew (not important, I have 2 assistants as is) ect... I have charted jets before, a few Learjets and Gulfstreams, however these were short haul, single journeys, cost split between 5-6 people from a charter company, but how much should I expect to spend owning a plane of my own??? Could I lease it out when I am not using it to make it more cost effective? I make 8-10 return trips to Switzerland a year, 15-20 to Denmark, 3-4 to Greece, and countless within the UK, I have no idea wether I can afford it or not. ANy input would be apprecieated, as I am sure you could imagine, I have collected some substantial frequent flyer miles, but there is nothing like your own jet is there? Thanks Mike
Hmm.. why dont you spend the money on some investments. Now is the best time.. to pick houses and lots of interesting toys. If you have everything else... i guess then,.. its time for the plane...
I have had a few airplanes in my life, and yes, one was a jet. Suggest you look at the CompAir 12. It is like a PC-12 but has more power..1650SHP and sips 70 gal/hr at 310KTS. This is a fast airplane and economical and has long range. I flew it once...and was impressed. Priced at $2.8M, but economical to operate. The website is: www.compairaviation.com
If you can get access to Conklin & deDecker, that will give you good starting information for the specific aircraft you are looking at, but I can give you a couple aircraft I am familiar with: Citation V - annual operating costs (including everything from fuel to maintenance to insurance to crew) will run $800k-1.2mm for 300-500 hours of use. Challenger 604 - annual operating costs will run roughly $1.5-2mm for 300-500 hours of use. You can offset some of these costs by chartering out the aircraft when you are not using it but that is not a big money maker. The charter operators are the only ones who really profit from charter. You'll make a few hundred bucks an hour over your operating costs and you'll have a plane with more hours and more maintenance costs. Keeping an aircraft well maintained, hangared, insured and property staffed is not an inexpensive proposition. And depending on whether you have a maintenance program like Pro Parts or Smart Parts, you will either have relatively stable maintenance expenses, or they could be nothing one month and $100k the next.
So true! How about buying some hours in a share program? A friend of mine has a Citation XL with Citation shares, and he is totally happy with the arrangement. They have had the airplane for four years, and it still looks new. They have taken very good care of it.
Be very careful in understanding fractionals. If one flies outside the regular service area then there are extra charges. The entire structure of the fractionals is for their profit at multiple points (acquisition price based upon list which they never pay, overhead fee, operation fee). Many people are very happy with the fractional program but they completely understand that they are paying extra money to have the no worries convenience. The fractional user also has to be OK with aircraft that are not personalized in colors, features or configuration. Keep in mind that the OP is operating in Europe so the costs will be higher than in the US. Should he pursue the fractional path the terms and conditions may be different from those in the US. Jeff
Gentlemen, Thankyou for your help and advice. It seems I have found a path I am happy for now, I will keep you updated. Best Mike
guide posted in a separate thread http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=138693969#post138693969
One needs to keep in mind the expenses associated with non predictable costs on items not normally scheduled for service. Autopilot problems, servo replacement, flap gear box replacement, computer and gyro problems, all sorts of unscheduled items will creep up in due time, unless you have a near new aircraft. JSSI or similar coverage on the engines and a real must. As an example, a pair of Pratt's JT 15D series engines were scheduled for mid life (hot sections), and the estimate was about $45,000.00 per engine. After teardown stators were needed, so add about $30,000.00 per stator for rebuilts. Then HT blades need replacement, and along with Pratt's campaign, that's about another $40,000.00 for parts. Then it was discovered that the last shop that did the overhaul destroyed the HT discs when they improperly removed the rivits that hold the HT blades in place, but still installed the damaged discs. Pratt confirmed the discs are now scrap. New discs, $90,000.00 each. Now, we started at the estimate of $90,000.00 for both hot section inspections, and we are now at $330,000.00, and the job's not finished yet. Add igniters, and other misc costs, as that's just icing on the cake! This is a true story. You won't find these costs written in any of your cost per operating hour schedules. Be aware, have a cast iron stomach and a bottomless check book! But, is it worth it in the end? ABSOLUTELY! Gary Bobileff
