Say I was taking my family from MN/WI/IA to east coast.
How much would it cost to fly 4-8 people via charter out there?
Speculating—I have no idea—discussion over campfire last night.
One pickup or three? What kind of plane? Going where?
The number of people matters only as to the size of plane that you need as when you charter you’re paying for the plane in its entirety and not the number of seats occupied.
To give you some rough idea, we’ve chartered 5 seat puddle jumpers a few times on vacation. FLL to Marsh Harbor, Bahamas was about $1500 each way if i recall and San Juan, PR to Tortola , BVI was $1250 each way. These were short flights of less than an hour each.
5-6 people.
Say Minneapolis to New Hampshire.
Direct
5-6 people.
Say Minneapolis to New Hampshire.
Direct
One way or round trip? If round trip, how long will you be there?
Do you want the flight to take 8 hours or 3 hours?
3 hrs
I guess round trip.
Staying a couple of weeks
Charters generally charge hourly rates, and the choice of aircraft will be a factor. A Cessna Citation 560 will be far less expensive than a Gulfstream IV. You won’t need a larger aircraft with long range capabilities if you’re traveling the route you mentioned. There are large charters such as XO and Netjets, but there are also dozens of smaller operators to choose from.
You can obtain quotes from most of the websites by entering your travel plans. You’ll need to know the exact passenger count for the flight manifest.
Just don’t take one of those Buddy Holly killing planes. Those are really bad.
Around $25,000 for that trip or approximately 5X first class fair for wherever you’re going.
We’ve done this 3-4 times this year at work. I want to say we’re around $10k one way for something like SC to Ohio for an 8 passenger jet. The price varies based on where and when. We use Delta Jets and I think there was also an initial membership fee. It’s cheaper than other fees, but it’s not cheap.
The only way it comes close to being worth it financially is if you place a really high premium on the value of time of the passengers.
Thanks.
Again, campfire conversation. I looked at a couple sites and got the $12-$20K estimate.
It was pointed out that if someone’s firm used a service, you may be able to get a deal on personal travel.
Check out the Blackbird app. It’s kind of like Uber for airplanes. You pick the date and airports, and the app will give you quotes.
Check out the Blackbird app. It’s kind of like Uber for airplanes. You pick the date and airports, and the app will give you quotes.
I heard about this app several months ago and forgot about it until you mentioned it. I was interested because many of their flights are available by owners with the same airplane that I own. So, I just went online and plugged in a sample flight from San Francisco to Truckee, Ca and the charge was $120 per seat. San Francisco to Barstow was $271 per seat. I figure you would make a few bucks, but that’s about it. Most planes like mine rent for about $300 per hour and you can only carry three passengers.
Not sure too many experienced pilots would go for it, but my son is trying to build hours and he would be happy just to have his expenses covered. He is only making $21/hour as a flight instructor right now.
Greg
I took an 8 person jet from Boston to Newfoundland area for a business trip. 3 day trip. Rep that took me said $18,000.00. Plane stays at the airport, no place for it to go in-between days so had to pay for pilots stay and hanger fees for the plane.
//Around $25,000 for that trip or approximately 5X first class fair for wherever you’re going. //
This is a good rule of thumb from my experience. Can get quite a bit more expensive if they have to charge to re-position a plane and/or the plane has to sit and wait for you. I was on a jet from Atlanta to LAX that cost $50k (one way) and I’ve seen roundtrip fees from Orange County, CA to Denver around $40k.
I will say, for what it’s worth for this thread, if a person wants to purchase a private jet and flies 200/hrs/yr on average, you need a net worth of $100m+ to pull it off. Maybe a bit less in net worth if it’s a Premier or M2/Mustang and a single pilot operation. I have colleagues who started flying private then bought a jet only to find they really didn’t have ‘private jet’ wealth. Poor folks had to sell their jet and suffer on commercial flights. Then again, I have a friend who has two jets: 1 for long distance (Falcon 7X) and one for shorter hops (Cessna X). Rough life.
Yea, it is a rule of thumb. You are getting close to being rich when you own your own jet. I had a friend that ran a jet service. Went on a few trips with him. Great vacation. Drive to the airport, get on the plane, get to destination, vacation starts in 10 seconds as your rent car is waiting for you. Thought that would be a really cool way to do a vacation. He laughed and said it would just about cost me about $10k to leave the hanger in the Lear. Oh well, poor boys can dream.
//Around $25,000 for that trip or approximately 5X first class fair for wherever you’re going. //
This is a good rule of thumb from my experience. Can get quite a bit more expensive if they have to charge to re-position a plane and/or the plane has to sit and wait for you. I was on a jet from Atlanta to LAX that cost $50k (one way) and I’ve seen roundtrip fees from Orange County, CA to Denver around $40k.
I will say, for what it’s worth for this thread, if a person wants to purchase a private jet and flies 200/hrs/yr on average, you need a net worth of $100m+ to pull it off. Maybe a bit less in net worth if it’s a Premier or M2/Mustang and a single pilot operation. I have colleagues who started flying private then bought a jet only to find they really didn’t have ‘private jet’ wealth. Poor folks had to sell their jet and suffer on commercial flights. Then again, I have a friend who has two jets: 1 for long distance (Falcon 7X) and one for shorter hops (Cessna X). Rough life.
As a plane owner for over 20 years, I can say that the worst thing to own by yourself is an airplane. Rarely does one person have enough justification, so, you find a partner. I bought mine with my best friend, also a pilot, that I flew gliders with for about 10 years beforehand. After we owned our plane for about 10 years, we decided it wasn’t being flown enough and we agreed we could take on a third partner. So far, that’s been good and maintenance, insurance, hangar cost, etc. is a LOT more tolerable when split three ways. However, planes can be a money pit due to the desire for avionics upgrades, powerplant upgrades, cosmetic updates, etc. And, you never stop dreaming of something bigger, faster, flies higher, etc. It just never ends!
A LOT of people with jets end up leasing them to a broker that markets them to the charter market. A lot of time, these are full blown management companies that take responsibility for all maintenance needs, insurance, FAA charter certificate, air crew, etc. The owners do not end up making too much money, but they can write off losses from the charter arrangement that is, in many cases, set up specifically to create losses. Also, this means you don’t necessarily get to go anywhere anytime you want because the plane might be chartered. Last, finding pilots is getting tougher and tougher. A captain for a super midsize jet can easily get $125-150K per year in salary with the first officer making $80-100K. If you are operating a large corporate aircraft like a G5 or a Falcon 7X, add 50K to those numbers. If you don’t have enough demand to justify full time, salaried pilots, you will have to use contract pilots that free lance their services on a per day basis plus expenses. Plan on $1,500/day minimum for a captain and $800-1,000/day for the first officer for a super midsize or a large jet.
I have been checking into the industry because I may take up aviation as a second career after I retire. It will only get even more lucrative over the next 1-3 years as the pilot shortage gets worse.
Greg
Many yrs ago I was a 50% owner of a Cherokee. We commuted to work in it several times per week and we had an STC for regular gas so fuel costs were not too bad. It was fun though it can’t be cost justified. My cousin has a nice turbo Bonanza and he flies to remote areas to visit clients for his business so the company owns the plane and absorbs the cost. That’s a cool way to go.
Of course, we are talking single engine piston, not a jet of any kind. Like boats, the cost of purchasing is the least of it!
Sounds like a great plan for a retirement income to fly people around. I haven’t flown in years but might pick it back up when I retire in a year or two. I do own a sailboat so I have a place to throw away money on a monthly basis.
I don’t remember airplanes being mentioned in the most expensive thread…
Check out the Blackbird app. It’s kind of like Uber for airplanes.
My balls aren’t big enough to get into an unknown aircraft being flown by an unknown pilot. I’ll fly commerical…