Average operating cost

[MD-11pilot]

Could anyone share their experience as far as operating costs for the 336/337. I am considering starting a 135 operation to shuttle between 3 destinations in the South Pacific. From origin to destination, they are 170, 300, and 500 nautical miles (all over water). Would operate the 170 mile route 6 days a week (one round trip per day) and the remaining 2 once a week. So obviously I would put a lot of time on the airframes.

Love the looks and idea of the 336/337, but am wondering if it would work for the operation.

BTW if it would help, the ticket prices would be as follows...

170 mile leg : $120
300 mile leg : $250
500 mile leg : $350

Any advice or info is much appreciated.

if you want to pm me, just let me know.

[Ernie Martin]

By using the "Search" feature of this Board you will see many prior messages on this subject. Simply adjust the fuel price and you'll get a cross-section of opinions. You will find they range all over the place, depending largely on maintenance costs. In addition to "operating costs" you might want to then search for "maintenance cost".

The advantage of the "Search" feature is two-fold: you get instant answers and you get many answers (i.e., from different sources).

Ernie

[jchronic]

For what it's worth, I sum the following parameters in costing out my bid prices for my aerial survey contracts:

Fuel: Estimated burn/hour on the mission x estimated fuel price I'll
be paying. (I include an escalator clause in my contracts for
price increases outside of a set range)
Maintenance Allowance: $100/hour
Engine/Propeller (overhaul) Reserve: $40/hour
Pilot salaries: Whatever yours would be on a per hour basis.
Hangar Rent: Monthly cost.
Ancillary Costs: Anything directly attributable to operating the
airplane, e.g. in my case the cost of my flight tracking
system.

Strictly regarding maintenance, after a sizable up front investment prepping the airplane, I budget $8-12K for annuals depending on what I think might be needed. Based on flying approx. 200-250 hours/year, the $100/hour works out about right (so far) for an annual and 100 hour plus random unplanned maintenance - with the caveat that I do a lot of the work myself under the supervision of my IA.

On top of those costs, of course, I add what I think is a reasonable profit margin.

Joe

[jchronic]

And I forgot to add insurance, pro rated on an hourly basis as best I can forecast my yearly activity, allocated to each client.

Joe

[MD-11pilot]

Thanks for the input guys. Time to crunch numbers.

[Skymaster337B]

There's an old saying, "Do you know how to become a millionaire? Take a billion dollars and buy an airline." So there's one more cost consideration...buying a $55,000 airplane that is really only worth $25,000 especially if fuel costs keep rising.