4 ms·
This is simply incorrect. The dominant costs are maintenance, followed by fuel. Even the tiniest and cheapest of trainer airplanes usually break down their cos
by ledauphin 4y ago
This is simply incorrect. The dominant costs are maintenance, followed by fuel.
Even the tiniest and cheapest of trainer airplanes usually break down their cost structure as follows:
engine/maintenance costs: ~$90/hour
fuel costs: ~$60/hour
instructor fee: ~$60/hour
As airframes get larger and engines get more powerful, the cost of maintenance and fuel goes up astonishingly quickly - but it's rare to pay more than $100/hour for instruction. Once you get into turboprop and very small jet aircraft, you're talking one to several thousand dollars an hour in operating costs, which no pilot has ever been paid.
- beefman 4y agoSorry if it wasn't clear, my comment doesn't just refer to aircraft but to all means of mass transportation, with units of USD per passenger mile. It's based on extensive analysis but is also pretty obvious when you think about it. Yes, as the passenger:pilot ratio gets high, other costs will exceed the pilot's salary. In the case of a Cessna 172 (for example), even if the pilot works for free, 25% of the vehicle's capacity is wasted, unless the pilot is also a passenger. This isn't true in the case of the general population so these planes aren't used for mass transportation.