Overview: Private Jet Prices | How Much Does A Private Jet Cost to Own?
Purchasing your own private jet, whether it’s for personal or business use, is a significant investment and drastically increases the convenience and luxury of your travel arrangements.
Unfortunately, the price of a private jet makes this dream unattainable for many.
How much does a private jet cost? The private plane cost includes more than just the initial purchase of the jet itself. Much like a car, you still have operating costs and maintenance to consider when creating your budget for a private jet cost.
When all is said and done, how much does it cost to own a private jet? In our detailed pricing review, we will go over the cost of your initial investment as well as the long-term cost of a private jet. If you’ve ever wondered how much does a private jet cost?, keep reading to find out if it’s a luxury you can afford.
Image source: Gulfstream
Considerations for Private Plane Cost
The private jet prices can be painful to fork over at an aircraft brokerage, especially if you aren’t sure whether you’ll use it often enough. How do you know when your travels warrant the private jet prices on the market? Are there other ways to save money on a private plane cost? Before we get into the specifics of what the private jet prices amount to, let’s take a closer look at whether or not you need a jet, as well as some other considerations.
Professionals recommend purchasing your own plane when you spend between 150 to 200 hours each year in transit. If you spend fewer hours in flight, you may want to consider chartering a plane instead of footing the bill for the private plane cost. A plane charter allows you to fly via private jet when you need to without the private plane cost of maintenance and upkeep.
Once you reach 240 in-flight hours, the price of a private jet reaches its lowest operating cost.
According to one aircraft brokerage in London, 85 percent of his store’s customers purchase their private jets pre-owned to save on private jet prices. Much like many consumers would do with vehicles, they initially save on their private jet cost by purchasing a used plane and then subsequently switch them out every four to five years.
How much do private jets cost to own? In the next section, we will review the basic private jet cost for brand new planes. Keep in mind that if you opted for a second-hand aircraft, you may be able to save some money on the exorbitant price tag, though you may find yourself with more maintenance on an older plane.
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How much Does a Private Jet Cost?
The most pressing question on consumers’ minds is how much does a private jet cost? The price range for private jet prices can be staggering, ranging anywhere from $3 million to $300 million.
High–net worth individuals who intend to spend plenty of time on their own personal plane often spend an equal amount of money refitting the interior to suit their own unique tastes.
If you want to answer the question how much do private jets cost?, it’s important to keep in mind that we are only considering private jet prices and not custom upgrades on the interior.
On the low-end of the price spectrum are what most would consider entry-level planes such as the Beechcraft King Air or Super King Air Turboprop. These are not technically considered jet aircrafts, but they do still run on kerosene and jet fuel.
On the Beechcraft, you can seat up to 11 passengers for a maximum range of 1,806 nautical miles. How much do private jets cost on this end of the spectrum? Entry-level private jet prices will typically fall between $4 million and $7.5 million.
Image from Beechcraft
In the mid-size aircraft bracket, private jet costs will become slightly higher. A Dassault Falcon, seating between six and eight passengers depending on the specific model, can fly up to 3,350 nautical miles.
In exchange for the extra distance you gain with a mid-size aircraft, the private jet prices increase to somewhere around $50 million with most coming in under $80 million. As you increase the size of the aircraft, you will also be increasing the annual private jet cost to include more crew members, more fuel, and a higher insurance price tag.
In ultra-range aircrafts, the Gulfstream 550 is one of the most sought-after jets, designed to carry up to 17 passengers for 7,500 miles. The private airplane cost for a model like this one usually comes in around $50 to $60 million.
On the highest end of the spectrum, the cost of a private jet that functions more like an airliner will come in with the highest operating costs. This Boeing Business Jet can seat close to 75 passengers and fly incredibly long distances—up to 9,300 miles.
The private jet cost for an ultra-range aircraft such as this one could average closer to $200 to $300 million, not including interior upgrades.
Most of the private airplane cost will fall between $50 to $80 million dollars for a good quality, mid-size aircraft. There are even plenty of ultra-range aircrafts that will fall into this same price category.
While the Boeing Business Jet is definitely a roomier option, the private airplane cost is out of the reach of most people, and the size is often unnecessary unless it is used mostly for larger-scale business travel.
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Private Jet Prices
| Type of Aircraft | Passenger Capacity | Jet Price |
| Light (entry-level) | Up to 11 | $4–$8 million |
| Mid-size | Up to 8 | $50–$60 million |
| Ultra-range | Up to 17 | $60–$80 million |
| Ultra-range (high end) | Up to 75 | $200–$300 million |
Table: Private jet pricing and costs
Range
| Type of Aircraft | Range (nautical miles) |
| Light (entry-level) | 1,800 |
| Mid-size | 3,400 |
| Ultra-range | 7,500 |
| Ultra-range (high end) | 9,300 |
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How Much Does It Cost to Own a Private Jet?
Now that you know what to expect from the private plane cost, it’s best to anticipate the additional expenses that are certain to add up. Like a vehicle, but significantly more expensive, the private plane cost has to include the everyday expenses such as insurance, fuel, maintenance costs, and parking fees.
Image from Boeing
The price of a private jet’s maintenance can run anywhere from $700,000 to $4 million annually. Larger planes, such as the Gulfstream 550 can easily run $2.5 million per year to maintain.
How much does it cost to own a private jet when all of these expenses add up? Let’s examine a few of the top maintenance costs:
- Fuel costs: Fuel is the largest variable cost you will likely encounter when calculating your private jet prices. Smaller and lighter aircrafts get better gas mileage than their larger and heavier counterparts, just as sedans tend to have better gas mileage than large SUVs. The distance you travel also factors heavily into your fuel costs and thus your private jet cost. Traveling shorter distances requires the plane to maintain a lower altitude, which can eat into your fuel efficiency. When planes the size of the Gulfstream 550 are flown often, the cost of its private jet fuel will run close to $1 million.
- Crew cost: The cost to maintain a crew on your plane is another expense that many individuals might not factor into the cost of a private jet. A smaller plane, such as the Beechcraft King Air, will require a smaller crew. Should you decide to hire just a captain and a co-pilot, you may expect to spend $350,000 per year on salaries, benefits, and recurring training.
- Insurance: On an investment as expensive as a private jet, you wouldn’t want to fly it without good insurance. The insurance rate is based off of the hull value and will depend greatly on the type of aircraft you purchase. For a mid-size aircraft, the private jet prices for insurance should run somewhere close to $30,000 per year.
- Parking fees: When your plane is not in use, you will have to find some place to house it. The cost of a private jet parking fee can be anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 per month ($36,000 to $60,000 annually). The variation in private plane cost for parking fees will depend on your location and the popularity of the hub where you intend to park your aircraft.
- Maintenance: Your private plane will need to receive regular scheduled maintenance every 3, 12, 24, 36, 60, 72, 120, and 144 months, in addition to extra maintenance required when the in-flight hours total between 270 to 15,000 hour intervals. Maintenance keeps your aircraft licensed and airworthy, ensuring that you can use your plane whenever you want to. Maintenance is difficult to estimate because it depends heavily on how much you use your plane as well as how long you have owned it.
While the above are the most common, less common—but still important—items to consider as additions to the annual operating cost of a private jet exist. You may want to factor in catering for long flights, the additional salary of a flight attendant, or professional cleaning services.
If you plan to park your jet somewhere cold, you may need to pay for de-icing in the wintertime. These private jet prices for these additional items are very dependent on your personal tastes and desires.
Not sure what you should factor in for the private plane cost? Many experts recommend accounting for approximately 10 percent of the cost of the plane in additional annual fees.
This 10 percent should cover your maintenance, crew salaries, parking fees, and even your fuel. Because this percentage is based off the worth and the cost of a private jet, it automatically comes to a higher rate for more expensive or larger planes.
Conclusion: How Much Is a Private Jet?
After reviewing in-depth information regarding the various private jet costs, it really comes down to just one question: how much is a private jet?
Those individuals interested in a mid-range aircraft can expect to the private jet cost to be approximately $50 to $80 million dollars depending the model, range, and condition of the aircraft they are interested in. If you don’t have close to $80 million stashed away in your savings account, you can investigate financing to cover the private plane cost you are set to incur.
Don’t forget the additional expenses you need to factor into your private jet cost: insurance, parking fee, crew salaries, maintenance, and fuel expenses, just to name a few.
If you’re looking for a more accurate way to determine your private jet cost, you can use online calculators to give you a realistic idea of the price of a private jet.
Owning your own airplane can be a great investment if you are a frequent flier and can afford the private jet prices. How much does a private jet cost? Can you afford it? It might be worth the investment if you’re accustomed to logging plenty of in-air miles each year.
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