Single-engine turbine helicopter · operating costs
Leonardo AW119 Koala Operating Costs and Cost per Hour
A Leonardo AW119 Koala costs about $2,640 an hour to operate at 200 hours a year: $296,000 a year fixed plus $1,156 per flight hour, itemised with sources.
CRAFT estimate, fuel priced October 4, 2026
At a glance
- Per flight hour at 200 hrs a year
- $2,635
- Per year at 200 hrs
- $527,031
- Fixed costs / year
- $295,831
- Variable / flight hour
- $1,156
- Jet A, $421/hr today
- Fuel burn
- 55 gal/hr
- 1 pilot, paid
- Crew assumed
- 1 crew
CRAFT estimates in USD for a U.S.-based aircraft. How we estimate them is below; every line has its source.
What a Leonardo AW119 Koala costs per hour
The Leonardo AW119 Koala is a single-engine turbine helicopter with 7 seats, burning 55 gallons of Jet A an hour. In our estimate it costs $1,156 for every hour it flies and $295,831 a year whether it flies or not. Spread over 200 hours a year, that is about $2,635 a flight hour; over 100 hours, $4,114; over 400, $1,896.
The estimate assumes a paid crew: 1 pilot. The largest single cost at 200 hours is crew salary, at $176,081 a year.
Leonardo AW119 Koala cost calculator
Leonardo AW119 Koala annual cost
$527,091 per year
$295,831 fixed + $1,156/hr × 200 hrs ($421/hr of it fuel: 55 gal at $7.66). About $2,635 per flight hour with the fixed costs spread over the hours. Leonardo AW119 Koala, CRAFT estimate.
Fixed costs
What the Leonardo AW119 Koala costs a year before it flies an hour.
| Fixed costs | Per year | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|
| Crew Salary | $176,081 | 1 captain at $123,220 (BLS median, commercial pilots), plus 43% for benefits and payroll costs (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, private industry, June 2026).Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (released May 15, 2026); BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026 (released September 9, 2026) |
| Crew TrainingEstimate, $6,000 to $12,000 | $9,000 | Recurrent training each year for 1 pilot, at $6,000 to $12,000 per pilot for a single-engine turbine helicopter. CRAFT estimate. |
| HangarEstimate, $5,400 to $32,400 | $18,900 | From Concord-Padgett's helicopter hangar rate ($450 a month) to a Bell 407 footprint (42 ft long, 35 ft rotor) at Naples' $1.85 a square foot ($2,700): $450 to $2,700 a month. Big-city airports cost more, a tie-down much less.Source: Published airport hangar and tie-down rates (Concord-Padgett Regional, City of Concord NC; Naples Airport Authority FY2026) (read October 15, 2026) |
| InsuranceEstimate, $34,300 to $90,400 | $62,350 | Liability of $2,800 to $4,000 a year plus hull cover at 1.75% to 4.8% of a hull value of $1,800,000, the median published price of the single-engine turbine helicopters we cover (no published price for this model). Liability from BWI's published helicopter guidance ($2,800 to $4,000 a year for $1 million). Hull from 1.75% of value, Robinson's own 2026 example for the R66, to 4.8%, the low end of BWI's Bell 206 example ($15,200 to $19,450 on a $315,000 hull). Midpoints used; pilot experience moves it a lot.Source: BWI Aviation Insurance, "Helicopter insurance cost" (January 28, 2020); Robinson Helicopter Company, Estimated Operating Cost sheets for the R22, R44 Raven II and R66, 2026 |
| ManagementEstimate, $12,000 to $30,000 | $21,000 | A management company's fee of $1,000 to $2,500 a month for a single-engine turbine helicopter (crew, maintenance tracking, compliance and billing). CRAFT estimate.Source: Business Jet Traveler, "Is a management company right for you?" |
| Miscellaneous FixedEstimate, $5,000 to $12,000 | $8,500 | Navigation databases and charts, weather, maintenance tracking and office costs: $5,000 to $12,000 a year for a single-engine turbine helicopter. CRAFT estimate. |
| Total | $295,831 |
Variable costs
What each flight hour adds. Fuel is priced at $7.66 a gallon; every dollar a gallon moves the hourly cost by $55.
| Variable costs | Per flight hour | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel Cost | $421 | 55 gallons of Jet A an hour (USDA Forest Service, Helicopter Services Hourly Flight Rates, Fuel Consumption, and Weight Reduction Chart (CWN/Exclusive Use contracts awarded 2013-2017, effective 2019-02-16), USFS contract fuel consumption figure for helicopter 'AW 119 KOALA' (gal/hr), used by the agency to compute load and fuel reimbursement; a government planning figure for typical operation, not a POH cruise table) at $7.66 a gallon, our estimated U.S. average FBO price for Jet A on 2026-10-04.Source: USDA Forest Service, Helicopter Services Hourly Flight Rates, Fuel Consumption, and Weight Reduction Chart (CWN/Exclusive Use contracts awarded 2013-2017, effective 2019-02-16); CRAFT jet fuel price data |
| MaintenanceEstimate, $200 to $450 | $325 | Scheduled maintenance, parts, labor and unscheduled repairs for the airframe and avionics: $200 to $450 a flight hour for a single-engine turbine helicopter. Older aircraft sit at the top of the range. CRAFT estimate, checked against the USDA Forest Service's contract flight rates.Source: USDA Forest Service, Helicopter Services Hourly Flight Rates, Fuel Consumption, and Weight Reduction Chart (contracts awarded 2013 to 2017, effective February 16, 2019) |
| Engine OverhaulEstimate, $100 to $200 | $150 | An hourly reserve for the next engine overhaul: $100 to $200 per engine per hour for a single-engine turbine helicopter. No published overhaul price for this engine, so a CRAFT estimate. |
| Rotor and Drive ComponentsEstimate, $100 to $250 | $175 | Life-limited rotor blades, gearboxes and drive-train parts, reserved by the hour: $100 to $250 a flight hour for a single-engine turbine helicopter. CRAFT estimate. |
| Crew/Landing/Handling FeesEstimate, $30 to $100 | $65 | Landing and ramp fees and pilot travel: $30 to $100 a flight hour for a single-engine turbine helicopter. CRAFT estimate. |
| Miscellaneous VariableEstimate, $10 to $30 | $20 | Oil, cleaning and cabin supplies: $10 to $30 a flight hour. CRAFT estimate. |
| Total | $1,156 |
Annual cost at 100, 200 and 400 hours
| Hours a year | 100 hours | 200 hours | 400 hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed costs | $295,831 | $295,831 | $295,831 |
| Variable costs | $115,600 | $231,200 | $462,400 |
| Total a year | $411,431 | $527,031 | $758,231 |
| Per flight hour | $4,114 | $2,635 | $1,896 |
Leonardo AW119 Koala specs
- Class
- Single-engine turbine helicopter
- Engines
- 1 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6B-37A
- Fuel
- Jet A
- Fuel burn
- 55 gal/hr
- Seats
- 7
- Range
- 515 nm
- Max takeoff weight
- 6,283 lb
Specs: Wikipedia, Wikipedia (AgustaWestland AW119 Koala).
The Leonardo AW119 Koala compared with similar aircraft
Same method, same fuel prices, at 200 hours a year.
| Aircraft | Per hour | Per year | Fuel burn |
|---|---|---|---|
Leonardo AW119 KoalaSingle-engine turbine helicopter | $2,635 | $527,031 | 55 gal/hr |
 Airbus H130Single-engine turbine helicopter | $2,620 | $524,031 | 53 gal/hr |
 Airbus H125Single-engine turbine helicopter | $2,597 | $519,431 | 50 gal/hr |
 Bell 407Single-engine turbine helicopter | $2,559 | $511,831 | 45 gal/hr |
 Eurocopter AS350 BASingle-engine turbine helicopter | $2,559 | $511,831 | 45 gal/hr |
 MD 600NSingle-engine turbine helicopter | $2,528 | $505,631 | 41 gal/hr |
How we estimate these costs
Every aircraft on our operating cost calculator is costed the same way: fixed costs a year plus a cost per flight hour, from public inputs. Crew pay comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, hangar rates from published airport schedules, insurance from a broker's published guidance, fuel from our fuel price data, and the fuel burn from USDA Forest Service. Lines marked “estimate” are the midpoint of a stated range for single-engine turbine helicopters, not a quote. Nothing here comes from another cost calculator or a broker's budgets.
- Not included: the purchase price, financing, depreciation, sales tax, upgrades and paint or interior work, and any rental or charter income.
- What moves it most: hours flown (fixed costs spread thinner), the fuel price, where it is hangared, the pilot's experience (insurance) and the aircraft's age (maintenance).
Spot something wrong? Tell us.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Leonardo AW119 Koala cost per hour?
About $2,640 a flight hour flown 200 hours a year, in CRAFT's estimate: $1,156 an hour in direct costs (fuel, maintenance, engine and parts reserves, fees) plus $295,831 a year in fixed costs spread over the hours. Flown 100 hours it is about $4,110 an hour; flown 400, about $1,900.
How much does it cost to own a Leonardo AW119 Koala for a year?
About $527,000 a year flown 200 hours: $295,831 in fixed costs (crew salary, crew training, hangar, insurance, management, miscellaneous fixed) and $231,200 in hourly costs. The purchase price, financing and depreciation are not included.
How much fuel does a Leonardo AW119 Koala burn?
55 gallons of Jet A an hour (USDA Forest Service, Helicopter Services Hourly Flight Rates, Fuel Consumption, and Weight Reduction Chart (CWN/Exclusive Use contracts awarded 2013-2017, effective 2019-02-16)). At $7.66 a gallon, the estimated U.S. average FBO price for Jet A on October 4, 2026, that is $421 a flight hour. Every dollar a gallon moves it by $55.
Related
Compare helicopters
Costs by aircraft type
Charter Sales
Tell us the trip. We'll tell you the number.
Route, dates, rough timing, how many people. That is enough to start, and you get a firm price for that specific trip rather than a range.
Text us and you'll get a reply within 60 seconds, any hour.