The Hawker 800XP and Citation Excel are two of the most popular midsize jets in the world, though they each have their differences. The Hawker 800XP’s range is significantly longer, and its cabin has room for an extra passenger, while the smaller Excel prides itself on simplicity and efficiency.
For consistency’s sake, we’ll use 200,000 miles per year as the common denominator in our comparison. The Hawker 800XP cruises at 482 miles per hour, which means, in this scenario, you’re flying the Hawker 415 hours in a year. The Citation Excel’s cruise speed is 486 miles per hour, meaning it would take you 412 hours to fly 200,000 miles. Based on both fixed and direct costs, how much does it cost to operate each of these planes for a year? Let’s check it out.
Hawker 800XP
Direct Hourly Costs
The Hawker 800XP burns right around 262 gallons of fuel per hour. At $5.00 a gallon, fuel is going to cost you $1,310.00 per hour. You can expect maintenance on an 800XP to cost around $847.42 per hour. $300.09 of that is for the airframe, and $547.33 is for the engine and APU. With that being said, you’ll spend $2,157.42 on direct costs every hour between fuel and maintenance. At 415 hours, or 200,000 miles, that’s a total of $895,329.30 each year.
Fixed Annual Costs
Crew expenses for the 800XP are, on average, $187,200.00 annually. To hangar an 800XP, you’ll likely pay $34,905.00 for the year. Insurance, including hull and legal liability, will cost you $14,430.00 for the year. Pilot training will cost you $43,875.00 for the year. All of those fixed costs combined gives you a total of $280,410.00 annually.
At 415 hours, we’re looking at the following costs:
Total annual direct costs: $895,329.30
Total annual fixed costs: $280,410.00
Total annual cost: $1,175,739.30
Citation Excel
Direct Hourly Costs
The Citation Excel burns 225 gallons of fuel per hour, which, at $5.00 a gallon, is $1,125.00 per hour. Maintenance on the Excel is $618.63 per hour, on average, including $235.43 for the airframe and $383.20 for the engine/APU. Total fuel and maintenance costs give you a combined direct hourly cost of $1,743.63. At 412 hours (200,000 miles), you’re looking at spending $718,375.56 annually on direct operating costs.
Fixed Annual Costs
You’ll pay your Citation Excel crew about $187,200.00 annually. You’re looking at about $38,415.00 to hangar the Excel for a year, insurance will cost you $15,600.00 for the year, and pilot training will cost you $30,420.00. With all of that in mind, total fixed costs will be about $271,635.00 annually.
At 412 hours, that gives us:
Total annual direct costs: $718,375.56
Total annual fixed costs: $271,635.00
Total annual cost: $990,010.56
Comparison
Over the course of a year, you’d pay close to $200,000 more to fly the Hawker 800XP over the Citation Excel with these parameters. For that extra money, you get a cabin that’s close to three feet longer, room for an extra passenger, and a range that’s 600-plus miles longer.
The Excel, although smaller, is just as powerful as the 800XP. The Excel’s typical configuration has room for seven passengers, as opposed to the Hawker’s eight, but cruises at slightly higher speeds with more efficient engines.
VREF has the retail value of a 2004 Hawker 800XP listed at $2.7 million. It has a 2004 Citation Excel’s retail value listed at $3.4 million. So you’re paying an extra $700,000 or so at purchase for the Excel, but saving $200,000 a year in operating costs over the Hawker.
Which would you buy, if given the opportunity?
*numbers provided by Aircraft Cost Calculator
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