Young private jet owner breaks down the expenses and how much it costs to run

Published on Oct 04, 2023 at 9:39 PM (UTC+4)
by Andie Reeves

Last updated on Oct 05, 2023 at 3:03 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Kate Bain

A YouTuber is showing the world what owning a private jet is really like.

Jeffrey, who runs the channel JR Aviation with his brother, is in the business of buying jets.

Must be nice.

Now the young entrepreneur is sharing how much owning this piece of luxury will cost you, and it’s not pretty.

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Private jets appear to be the epitome of prestige and unattainable luxury.

But you can actually buy a second-hand one for as little as $50,000.

It’s not the initial cost that will break the bank, though.

“Very few private jet owners will show exactly what owning one entails,” Jeffrey said.

There are many inspections that planes need to go through before being considered air-worthy.

But this is not a simple yearly service like you might do with a car.

Each part of the aircraft has a totally different inspection schedule.

So, one piece might need to be serviced every year, while another could need to be checked out every three months.

The schedule is so complicated you’ll need to purchase special software just to keep track of it.

Jeffrey bought a Cessna Citation 501SP a few months ago and just had it serviced for the first time.

“My bank account is crying,” he said.

Besides paying for the labor and parts needed, getting your jet to the shop is expensive, too.

This particular jet sat waiting for its service for three months.

During that time, more items on the plane became due for inspection.

The amount of hidden costs was mind-blowing.

Some of these were trivial, like having to rent a new instruction manual for the plane for $400.

Others were not so trivial, such as having to buy an emergency landing nitrogen bottle for $10,000.

Oh, plus $600 shipping.

Another consideration when buying an old plane is the availability of parts.

Many are nearly impossible to source or are no longer being manufactured.

Jeffrey’s total cost on his plane’s first maintenance bill came to a staggering $27,080.

“I knew owning and maintaining a jet would be expensive, I just wasn’t prepared for this,” he said.

Luckily he doesn’t need to replace the most expensive parts of the plane yet: the engines, which cost $400,000 each.

Jeffrey notes that this is hardly the end of the very expensive road he’ll have to travel as a jet owner.

A new windshield would cost $30,000, while replacing the brakes would be $12,000 each.

“Maintenance can easily exceed the value of the plane,” he says.

After spending so much on your jet, you’d want to make sure it was covered properly, right?

The annual premium on Jeffrey’s McLaren costs him $1,000.

For his jet, it’s $19,364 a year.

The entrepreneur is thinking about upgrading the inside of the jet next.

But with a full interior overhaul costing $50,000, we think he should just embrace the look of those old-school leather seats.

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Andie is a content writer from South Africa with a background in broadcasting and journalism. Starting her career in the glossy pages of Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire, Andie has a broad portfolio, covering everything from sustainability solutions to celebrity car collections. When not at her laptop Andie can be found sewing, recording her podcast, taking board games too seriously or road-tripping in her bright green Kia.