“The pilots' salaries are the biggest cost of running a jet.”

Verdict: Crew is a large fixed cost — two captains on a large-cabin jet can cost $400,000–$600,000 a year with benefits and training — but for any aircraft flown regularly it is outrun by fuel, and over the life of the aircraft by depreciation and maintenance. Crew becomes the biggest line only on a jet that hardly flies, in which case the real biggest cost is owning a jet that hardly flies.

Take a Gulfstream G650ER flying 400 hours a year, roughly the profile of a busy corporate aircraft. Published operating-cost models put fuel at around $2.2–2.6 million a year at recent prices (the aircraft burns about 450 gallons an hour), engine and airframe maintenance programmes at $1–1.5 million, crew at $500,000–$700,000, hangar and insurance at a few hundred thousand each. Depreciation on a $70 million aircraft, at even 5–8% a year, is $3.5–5.5 million on its own.

Move down to a Phenom 300 flying 300 hours: fuel roughly $350,000, maintenance and engine reserves $250,000–$400,000, two pilots $250,000–$350,000. Now crew is competitive with fuel — and this is the segment where owner-pilots fly themselves precisely to remove it.

The post-pandemic pilot shortage pushed corporate salaries up sharply, with senior Gulfstream and Global captains reported above $250,000 and retention bonuses common, which is why the rumour has gained ground. It's a big number. It's just not the biggest one.

Aircraft in this story