Comparing Costs of the Gulfstream G550 and Global 6000

Gulfstream’s G550 and Bombardier’s Global 6000 are two of the most advanced ultra-long range large jets in the world. They each boast some of the longest legs of any business jet, both with a transcontinental range of more than 6,000 nautical miles. They’re also the most expensive.

For consistency’s sake, we’ll use 200,000 miles per year as the common denominator in our comparison. The G550 cruises at around 475 knots, or 548 miles per hour, which means, in this scenario, you’re flying the G550 365 hours in a year. The Global 6000 has the exact same cruise speed, so the number of flight hours is the same. Based on both fixed and direct costs, what’s the cost difference between owning each of these planes for a year? Let’s check it out.

 

Gulfstream G550

Direct Hourly Costs

Gulfstream’s G550 burns right around 402.30 gallons of fuel per hour. At $5.00 a gallon, fuel is going to cost you $2,011.50 per hour. You can expect maintenance on a G550 to cost around $1,207.06 per hour. $317.36 of that is for the airframe, and $889.70 is for the engine and APU. With that being said, you’ll spend $3,218.56 on direct costs every hour. At 365 hours, or 200,000 miles, that’s a total of $1,174,774.00 each year.

Fixed Annual Costs

Crew expenses for the G550 are, on average, $247,650.00 annually. To hangar a G550, you’ll likely pay $119,730.00 for the year. Insurance, including hull and legal liability, will cost you $52,650.00 for the year. Pilot training will cost you $101,400.00 for the year. All of those fixed costs combined gives you a total of $521,430.00 annually.

At 365 hours, we’re looking at the following costs:

Total annual direct costs: $1,174,774.40
Total annual fixed costs: $521,430.00
Total annual cost: $1,696,204.40

 

Global 6000 

Direct Hourly Costs

The Global 6000 burns 461.00 gallons of fuel per hour, which, at $5.00 a gallon, is $2,305.00 per hour. Maintenance on the Global is $1,211.85 per hour, on average, including $320.00 for the airframe and $891.85 for the engine/APU. Total fuel and maintenance costs give you a combined direct hourly cost of $3,516.85. At 365 hours (200,000 miles), you’re looking at spending $1,283,650.25 annually on direct operating costs.

Fixed Annual Costs

You’ll pay your Global 6000 crew the same as you would for the G550, $247,650.00 for the year. You’re looking at about $123,922.50 to hangar the aircraft for the year, insurance will cost you $53,076.01 for the year, and pilot training will cost you $99,255.00. Your total fixed costs will be about $523,903.51 annually.

At 365 hours, that gives us:

Total annual direct costs: $1,283,650.25
Total annual fixed costs: $523,903.51
Total annual cost: $1,807,553.76

 

Comparison

Over the course of a year, you’d pay just over $100,000 more to fly the Global 6000. The biggest difference between the two is fuel burn. The Global 6000 burns close to 60 more gallons of fuel per hour, leading to direct costs that are nearly $300 more per hour. The G550’s cabin is a couple feet longer than the Global 6000’s, but the Global’s is about a foot wider. The G550’s range is about 600 nautical miles longer than the Global 6000’s, though, and it burns quite a bit less fuel.

VREF has the retail value of a 2016 G550 at $50.5 million, and a 2016 Global 6000 at $48 million. With that being said, you’ll spend an extra $2.5 million for the Gulfstream, but will save $100,000 a year in operating costs.

For the extra cash up front, you get a range with the G550 that’s close to 600 miles longer (6,708 nm vs 6,163 nm). You also get to say you own a Gulfstream, which is enough to justify the cost for many people…

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