The Learjet 60 and Hawker 800XP are two of the most popular preowned midsize jets in the industry. Each typically sits four to six passengers (though they have room for more), and each has a range between 2,000 and 3,000 nautical miles.
For consistency’s sake, we’ll use 200,000 miles per year as the common denominator in this comparison. The Lear 60 cruises at around 425 knots, or 489 miles per hour, which means, in this scenario, you’re flying that Lear 60 409 hours in a year. To fly 200,000 miles in a Hawker 800XP that cruises around 419 knots, or 482 miles per hour, you’d be flying for 415 hours. Based on direct hourly costs and fixed annual costs, how much would it cost you to fly each of these planes for a year?
Lear 60
Direct Hourly Costs
Bombardier’s Lear 60 burns right around 215.10 gallons of fuel per hour. At $5.00 a gallon, fuel is going to cost you $1,075.50 per hour. You can expect maintenance on a Lear 60 to cost around $768.15 per hour. $266.78 of that is for the airframe, and $501.37 is for the engine and APU. With that being said, you’ll spend $1,843.65 on direct costs every hour. At 409 hours, or 200,000 miles, that’s a total of $754,052.85 per year.
Fixed Annual Costs
Crew expenses for the Lear 60 are, on average, $187,200.00 annually. To hangar a Lear 60, you’ll likely pay $34,125.00 for the year. Insurance, including hull and legal liability, will cost you $10,530.00 for the year. Pilot training will cost you $39,975.00 for the year. All of those fixed costs combined gives you a total of $271,830.00 annually.
At 409 hours, we’re looking at the following costs:
Total annual direct costs: $754,052.85
Total annual fixed costs: $271,830.00
Total annual cost: $1,025,882.85
Hawker 800XP
Direct Hourly Costs
The Hawker 800XP burns 262.00 gallons of fuel per hour, which, at $5.00 a gallon, is $1,310.00 per hour. Maintenance on the 800XP is $847.42 per hour, on average, including $300.09 for the airframe and $547.33 for the engine/APU. Total fuel and maintenance costs give you a direct hourly cost of $2,157.42. At 415 hours (200,000 miles), you’re looking at spending $895,329.30 annually.
Fixed Annual Costs
You’ll pay your Hawker 800XP crew the same as you would for the Lear 60, $187,200.00 for the year. For your hangar, you’re looking at about $34,905.00 for the year. Insurance will cost you $14,430.00 for the year, and pilot training will cost you $43,875.00. Your total fixed costs for the year will be about $280,410.00 annually.
At 415 hours, that gives us:
Total annual direct costs: $895,329.30
Total annual fixed costs: $280,410.00
Total annual cost: $1,175,739.30
Comparison
Over the course of a year, you’d pay about $150,000 more to fly the Hawker 800XP. The biggest difference is in the direct costs. Both fuel and maintenance are significantly more expensive on the 800XP. The Lear 60 is a bit faster than the 800XP, though not by much, and it climbs at a significantly faster rate (4,500 fpm compared to 3,500 for the 800XP). According to VREF, average retail value for a 2003 Lear 60 is $2.2 million. The average retail value for a 2003 Hawker 800XP is $2.6 million.
For the Hawker 800XP, you’re looking at an extra $400,000 up front and $150,000 more per year in operating costs. What you’re paying for with that extra money for the 800XP is a bigger cabin; it’s close to four feet longer than the Lear 60’s, and has about 135 more cubic feet of space. The 800XP’s range is also close to 100 nautical miles longer.
If you’re consistently taking five or six passengers along for the ride, the extra money for the Hawker’s additional cabin space might be worth it. If you’re typically only taking your spouse and two kids or a couple of your colleagues with you, the Lear 60 is likely a better option, as it can seat four passengers comfortably, is cheaper to operate, and is a little bit faster.
If you have experience with either of these planes, let us know your opinion in the comments!
