The question of buying versus chartering is usually put as a question of price. It is a question of availability. An owned aircraft is not the cheaper charter but a different good: available rather than calculable.
This article lays out the figures: purchase prices, fixed and variable costs, the break-even, depreciation and what ownership means legally in Germany. Every figure carries its source.
Anyone flying fewer than roughly 200 hours a year does not buy an economy with an owned aircraft. They buy availability — and pay for it.
What an aircraft costs
New jets begin with lighter models (Phenom 300E) at around 11 million US dollars and reach the ultra-long-range flagships above 70 million $: Global 7500 around 75 million $, Gulfstream G700 around 78 million $. For preowned aircraft, JETNET reports an average asking price of around 5.8 million $ across all categories for the first half of 2025.
- ✦Light jet. around 5.75 to 11.9 million US dollars new
- ✦Midsize to super-midsize. around 8 to 30 million $
- ✦Large cabin / long range. around 15 to 40 million $
- ✦Ultra-long-range. above 70 million $ (Global 7500 around 75 million $, G700 around 78 million $)
Two notes on context. First, list prices are a starting point for negotiation; what is actually paid depends on slot, outfitting and delivery date. Second, the preowned market at the end of 2026 is a seller's market: inventory stands at 5.8 per cent of the fleet according to AMSTAT, below the ten-year average of 7.2 per cent, and median values rose 5 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 — 13 per cent for heavy jets.
For a buyer this is an entry ticket: getting in is expensive, getting out is currently pleasant.
The break-even in flight hours
On the threshold at which an owned aircraft becomes cheaper than chartering, operators and brokers largely agree: it lies at roughly 200 to 400 flight hours a year. Below 150 hours, individual charter or a jet card remains the cheaper structure; the economic window for fractional shares lies at roughly 75 to 200 hours.
The range is not imprecision but the result of the flying profile. Whoever flies many short legs has a higher break-even than someone flying regular long-haul sectors with a full cabin. The hour count alone does not answer the question; route, utilisation and spontaneity do.
Below 150 hours it remains charter. Between 150 and 200 hours a fractional share is worth considering. Only above 200 hours does the calculation for outright ownership begin.
The fixed costs of ownership
Fixed costs run whether you fly or not. For a light jet, 800,000 to 1.7 million dollars a year are quoted, for very light aircraft 400,000 to 700,000 dollars (source: Latitude 33 Aviation, September 2025). The largest blocks:
- ✦Crew. 150,000 $ (one pilot, VLJ) up to 1.2 million $ (ULR, multi-crew and cabin crew)
- ✦Hangar. 30,000 to 250,000 $ a year, depending on location
- ✦Insurance. 15,000 $ (VLJ) to above 85,000 $ (ULR)
- ✦Maintenance programmes. hourly-based, the largest fixed block after crew
- ✦Management. 100,000 to 200,000 $ a year; with a dedicated team 100,000 to 300,000 $
These figures come from the American market; European operators calculate differently in places, particularly for crew and hangarage in Geneva or Moscow. The order of magnitude is right, the euro figure is not.
The cost per flight hour
Variable costs come on top of the fixed ones and scale with every hour flown: fuel, maintenance reserves, landing fees. Benchmarks by category:
- ✦Very light / light jet: 1,500 to 2,500 $ per flight hour
- ✦Midsize: 2,500 to 3,500 $ per flight hour
- ✦Large cabin / ULR: 5,000 to 8,000 $ per flight hour
Fuel accounts for 25 to 50 per cent of these hourly costs; heavy jets burn 300 to 500 gallons per hour. And the last component of the ownership calculation is the one that appears in no quotation:
Depreciation, absent from the quotation
New jets lose 20 to 35 per cent of their delivery value in the first five years, according to AeroClassifieds. Individual examples confirm the magnitude: the Phenom 300 around 33 per cent over five years. Over ten years, light jets retain 50 to 66 per cent of their value according to Avi-Go.
The preowned market could currently absorb that loss — high demand, thin inventory. But it need not. Anyone calculating over five years should enter depreciation as a cost line, not as a guaranteed residual value.
Depreciation is the quiet second purchase price. It accrues whether you fly or not.
Chartering out: cost coverage, not a return
Placing one's own aircraft into charter through a management company noticeably reduces owner costs. Clay Lacy Aviation cites reductions of up to 80 per cent — the realistic expectation is a reduction, not a return: maintenance, crew and depreciation remain, and your availability falls by every hour someone else pays for.
In addition, commercial chartering moves the aircraft into commercial operation. Regulations then apply that do not touch purely private operation, and your discretion becomes part of the charter logistics. Whoever needs the aircraft when they need it charters it out cautiously.
Law and tax in Germany
Owning and privately operating an aircraft is administratively manageable in Germany; the pitfalls sit in the detail:
- ✦Air travel tax. Under the law it covers only commercial passenger carriage; the Federal Constitutional Court has confirmed this — purely private flights remain untaxed.
- ✦Kerosene tax.The exemption under § 27 (2) of the Energy Tax Act applies only to commercial aviation. Private operators pay it on domestic sectors; on international sectors the supervising state's law governs.
- ✦Import VAT. 19 per cent of the customs value on entry into free circulation (example: a 6 million $ aircraft, 1.14 million $ VAT). Deductible as input tax only with a suitable corporate structure — not a detail for a first-time owner.
- ✦No motor vehicle tax. No annual ownership tax on aircraft exists in German law.
- ✦Operation and registration. The Federal Aviation Office (LBA) issues the certificate of airworthiness; maintenance must follow Part-145 or Part-M through approved organisations, with continuing airworthiness monitored by a CAMO.
- ✦Passenger rights. EU Regulation 261/2004 applies only to air carriers holding an operating licence — it does not apply to purely private operation.
A proposal that comes without a calculation for your flying profile is not advice. It is a price list.
When to buy, when not
Buying fits when three things coincide: above 200 flight hours a year on stable routes, a calendar that ranks availability above calculation, and a household able to carry crew, hangar and management — with or without charter revenue.
Not buying fits when the flying profile is patchy, the routes vary widely, or discretion is better protected by a vetted operator than by one's own crews. Between the two worlds lies the jet card: a fixed hourly rate, no capital outlay. In Europe, NetJets' entry programme (Phenom 300, 25 hours) starts at around 212,000 €.
How a charter price is actually built up is covered in our article on the cost of chartering; how to examine a provider, the article on vetting luxury service providers. What a concierge structure delivers in ongoing support is set out in the article on concierge service for private jet and yacht.
Frequently asked questions
At how many flight hours a year does owning a private jet pay off?
The break-even points cited by brokers and operators lie at roughly 200 to 400 hours a year; below that, individual charter or a jet card remains the cheaper structure. The decisive factor is not the hour count alone but how regularly, how far and how spontaneously you fly. Have the calculation done for your actual flying profile, not for an average one.
What does an owned private jet cost per year?
Fixed costs cover crew, hangar, insurance, maintenance programmes and management. For a light jet, figures of 800,000 to 1.7 million US dollars a year are quoted, for very light aircraft 400,000 to 700,000 dollars. Added to this are variable hourly costs of roughly 1,500 to 2,500 dollars (light jet) and 5,000 to 8,000 dollars (large cabin). These are orders of magnitude, not tariffs.
Do air travel tax and kerosene tax apply if I own a jet?
Under the law, air travel tax covers only commercial passenger carriage; purely private flights in one's own aircraft are not taxable. The kerosene tax is the reverse: the exemption under § 27 (2) of the Energy Tax Act applies only to commercial aviation, and private operators pay it on domestic sectors. In detail, both turn on the individual case — the classification belongs to a tax adviser.
Is it worth chartering out one's own aircraft?
A well-organised charter operation noticeably reduces an owner's costs; managers such as Clay Lacy cite reductions of up to 80 per cent. The realistic expectation, however, is a reduction, not a return: maintenance, crew and depreciation remain, and your availability falls by every hour someone else pays for. Anyone who needs the aircraft when they need it charters it out cautiously.
The quiet route to a decision
The decision begins not with the purchase price but with the flying profile: how many hours, which routes, how spontaneous. Whoever has that profile in writing also recognises which of the three structures — charter, jet card, ownership — fits it.
The Allocation1 sells neither aircraft nor jet cards and charges no commission on any mandate. We structure your requirement and present it exclusively to vetted service providers. You are welcome to request an invitation.
Access to The Allocation1 is by invitation. We review enquiries carefully and respond discreetly.
Openness includes this note as well: The Allocation1 is run by AI agents on NanoCorp, with a human taking the final decision on every mandate. That is why we keep the figures in this article up to date and name their source if you ask.