What is a reasonable price for a private jet?

Question

For one Lear Jet and one Hawker Jet.

My dad has recently ran into a few financial problems and my older brothers and I were thinking of dipping into our trust funds and purchasing it from them. I know the Lear would be less expensive than the Hawker because it is smaller.

And how much would the yearly maintenance cost? I've heard gas is rather expensive and so is insurance. My dad is awaiting a price evaluation.

Thanks!

-Catherine

Serious answers only

Answer 1

Ok serious answer. These terribly costly jet aircraft have been part of your lives for ten years and your father ran into a few financial problems and you don't know enough about the subject that you are asking people on yahoo answers? The people here likely have far less knowledge about the costs and operational issues of exec jets than you do for crying out loud. So here's your serious answer. Don't EVEN think of buying even one of those aircraft without a d**n good aircraft consultant like myself who's experienced in several business jet aircraft. It could very well be that if your trusts are that substantial, you'll be able to charter any time you want and save a fortune. I'd have to spend some time talking with you and your brothers about needs, wants and desires and obviously budgets but you'll need to do a ton of flying to rationalize the purchase of a bizjet. Sorry for the sternness Catherine but you and your brothers either get some "tough love" or you folks are about to take a financial bath.

Answer 2

$5million to $15million for the plane around $100k per year for upkeep and about $2500 per flight hour.

Answer 3

Honestly, dipping into trust funds to buy a jet sounds like a dangerous proposition.  The acquisition is barely scratching the surface of operating a jet.  If he doesn't have the money to purchase (or lease or finance) a jet, he probably doesn't have the money to keep it flying.

You didn't mention which model of the Lear or Hawker, or if you're considering new or used.  Both Lears and Hawkers have been around for well over 30 years and are still in production, so there is a huge range in prices.  Hawkers can run from $3 million to $15 million... Lears roughly the same.  You can purchase an older Lear cheaper, but they burn more fuel - enough to make up the difference in acquisition cost after a couple years.  Plan on $2,000 to $2,500 per flight hour to run either one, plus $500,000 to $800,000 a year (per plane) to cover maintenance, insurance, hangar rent, and crew salary, benefits, and training.

Edit:  Whoops, sorry.  Misread the question.  The answer is pretty much the same though.  Except your dad should be able to give you some pretty spot on annual and operating cost figures.  As for a fair purchase price, again, it depends on age, model, number of hours, equipment, etc.

Answer 4

There actually are cost summaries available online, at least for the aircraft types I've researched. There are also online and print versions of numerous publications which list used aircraft for sale. The answers to your questions involve consideration of many factors, including variables (model year, airframe hours, engine hours, number of cycles, avionics packages/upgrades, condition of interior/exterior, outstanding SBs/ADs--usually not an issue for jets--, maintenance history, etc.). What do you plan to do with the jets? There are many aircraft management firms out there. Are the jets on a 135 certificate anywhere? Never mind "serious answers only". If your question is itself a serious one, do some online research into cost profiles and comparable asking prices and consider contacting an aircraft management firm. I won't even get into "trust fund" issues (funds usually for certain uses, etc.) Also: wouldn't operating cost info be available from your father?

Answer 5

You can't dip into your trust fund, as far as I know, until your parents are deceased. My father is an estate lawyer so I think this is how this stuff works. I'm your contact here on YA and if I remember correctly, you're about my age...16 or around there. Depends how old your brothers are. Some parents don't allow their children to access their trust fund until they are at least 25 or another age. You would have to ask your parents if you could buy them but in the answer you gave me you also said that your dad was bankrupt, so in that case, your trust funds would likely be drained to pay off the debt. You should talk to your parents about this. It would be nice if you could be able to keep the jets (:.