Aircraft brochures quote hourly costs that are not comparable, because every manufacturer draws the line between fixed and variable in a different place. This table does not. Every row runs through the same five-year model we publish in ownership vs charter vs fractional and at the bottom of every aircraft page: 100 owner-occupied hours a year, 15% owner positioning, 20% positioning on third-party charter, an 85% owner revenue share on a managed certificate, and a 5-year hold.
The ten that repay their owners fastest
| Cessna Grand Caravan EXTurboprop | €1.72m – €2.56m | €180,000 | €450 | 220 h | €1,785 | 82% |
| Pilatus PC-12 NGXTurboprop | €3.69m – €5.49m | €260,000 | €650 | 206 h | €3,198 | 97% |
| Cessna Citation M2 Gen2Light Jet | €3.40m – €5.06m | €280,000 | €850 | 235 h | €4,063 | 77% |
| Cessna Citation CJ3+Light Jet | €4.30m – €6.41m | €300,000 | €900 | 204 h | €4,211 | 93% |
| Cessna Citation CJ4 Gen2Light Jet | €6.15m – €9.15m | €330,000 | €1,050 | 202 h | €5,653 | 94% |
| Embraer Phenom 300ELight Jet | €7.58m – €11.29m | €350,000 | €1,150 | 198 h | €6,613 | 98% |
| Pilatus PC-24Light Jet | €7.58m – €11.29m | €340,000 | €1,250 | 218 h | €7,183 | 85% |
| Cessna Citation LatitudeMidsize Jet | €11.69m – €17.39m | €420,000 | €1,600 | 211 h | €10,396 | 95% |
| Gulfstream G280Super-Midsize Jet | €15.17m – €22.57m | €500,000 | €2,000 | 212 h | €14,469 | 80% |
| Cessna Citation LongitudeSuper-Midsize Jet | €17.02m – €25.32m | €480,000 | €1,900 | 194 h | €16,363 | 83% |
Lowest five-year cost per owner-occupied hour in this set: Cessna Grand Caravan EX at €1,785 per hour flown, recovering 82% of its fixed budget from managed charter.
How to read each column
- Purchase band — indicative pre-owned range for a well-maintained, mid-life example on a current engine programme. The model uses a single point inside the band so results are reproducible.
- Annual fixed — crew, training, hangarage, hull and liability insurance, management fee and subscriptions. Independent of hours flown.
- Hourly direct — fuel, maintenance and engine-programme accruals, fees, handling and crew expenses, charged per actual aircraft hour including positioning.
- Break-even charter hours — third-party occupied hours a year at which the owner's charter margin covers the entire fixed budget.
- Five-year cost per owner hour — total net cash cost of ownership over the hold, charter income included, divided by owner-occupied hours flown. This is the number to compare against a charter quote.
- Fixed cost covered — share of the annual fixed budget recovered by managed charter at realistic utilisation for the type.
The other end of the table
The same frame applied to older heavy metal. These aircraft are cheap to buy and expensive to keep, and charter demand does not rescue them.
| Cessna Citation VIIMidsize Jet | €902k – €1.34m | €350,000 | €1,700 | 515 h | €5,176 | 23% |
| Dassault Falcon 900BHeavy Jet | €4.10m – €6.10m | €880,000 | €4,200 | 500 h | €13,976 | 26% |
| Gulfstream GIV-SPHeavy Jet | €3.69m – €5.49m | €900,000 | €4,500 | 573 h | €14,330 | 23% |
| Gulfstream G350Heavy Jet | €4.51m – €6.71m | €920,000 | €4,500 | 504 h | €14,900 | 26% |
| Gulfstream GVUltra Long Range | €7.79m – €11.59m | €1,050,000 | €5,100 | 475 h | €18,497 | 27% |
| Bombardier Global Express XRSUltra Long Range | €8.61m – €12.81m | €1,100,000 | €5,300 | 514 h | €19,630 | 27% |
Run it on your own assumptions
Pick an aircraft, then move your annual flying, the hours you are willing to release to charter, your operator's management fee and your resale horizon. The buy versus charter-out break-even recalculates as you drag.
Interactive · ownership desk
Run your own numbers on the Embraer Phenom 300E
Move your annual flying, the charter hours you are willing to release, the management fee your operator charges and how long you intend to hold the aircraft. Buy versus charter-out break-even updates instantly.
Your assumptions
Buy versus charter out
Break-even
At 100 hours a year, chartering is cheaper than owning the Embraer Phenom 300E by €1,123,275 over the hold. Owning turns cheaper from around 174 hours a year.
Pre-tax, pre-financing planning estimates on the same frame as the tables above: 15% owner positioning, 20% positioning on charter, 2% acquisition cost, 3% selling cost, and published five-year depreciation scaled linearly to your resale horizon. Retail comparison rate is the wholesale base rate plus 18%. Ask the desk for a tail-specific forecast.
Indicative planning estimates prepared by the Limitless Sky ownership desk — not appraisals, quotations or tax advice. Figures are pre-tax and pre-financing. Full methodology and sources are published at the bottom of each aircraft page, and the deeper analysis lives in the 10 most profitable private jets to own in 2026.