Operating costs
Regional airliner operating costs by model
What a regional turboprop or regional jet costs per hour and per year, with two pilots and a cabin crew.
2 models · median $9,970 a flight hour at 200 hours a year · CRAFT estimates
Regional airliners
What sets the cost of regional airliners
- Two pilots at airline pay and a flight attendant make crew the largest fixed cost.
- Maintenance and engine reserves dominate the hourly cost, more than fuel on most turboprops.
- Airlines spread the fixed costs over far more hours than private owners do; at 1,500 hours a year the hourly figure falls sharply.
| Class | Models | Median per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Regional turboprop airliner2 pilots + 1 cabin crew | 2 | $9,970 |
Calculator
Regional airliners cost calculator
Regional airliners operating cost calculator
$1,980,738 per year
$1,178,666 fixed + $4,010/hr × 200 hrs ($1,920/hr of it fuel: 250.7 gal at $7.66). About $9,904 per flight hour with the fixed costs spread over the hours. ATR 72-600, CRAFT estimate.
Every model
Operating cost of every regional airliner we estimate
2 aircraft. Costs at 200 hours a year, CRAFT estimates.
 ATR 72-6002 pilots + 1 cabin crew | Regional turboprop airliner | $9,903 | $1,980,666 | 250.7 gal/hrJet A | 72 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 ATR 42-6002 pilots + 1 cabin crew | Regional turboprop airliner | $10,027 | $2,005,466 | 266.9 gal/hrJet A | 48 |
4 aircraft we cover but don't estimate yet, and why
- Beechcraft 1900D: No published fuel burn we could cite: the maker's documents we could reach don't state one and no government rate schedule lists it.
- De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400: No published fuel burn we could cite: the maker's documents we could reach don't state one and no government rate schedule lists it.
- De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300: No published fuel burn we could cite: the maker's documents we could reach don't state one and no government rate schedule lists it.
- Embraer ERJ-145: No published fuel burn we could cite: the maker's documents we could reach don't state one and no government rate schedule lists it.
Other types: helicopter operating costs, piston aircraft operating costs, turboprop operating costs, private jet operating costs, or every aircraft.
Method
How every estimate is built
The same formula for every aircraft: fixed costs a year (crew, training, hangar, insurance, management, inspections) plus a cost per flight hour (fuel, maintenance, engine and parts reserves, fees). Annual cost is fixed costs plus the hourly cost times the hours flown; the hourly figure we quote spreads the fixed costs over 200 hours.
- Fuel: each model's published fuel burn, times one price for every aircraft that burns that fuel: Jet A at $7.66 a gallon and 100LL avgas at $7.41, the U.S. average FBO prices in our fuel price data. A model without a published fuel burn gets no estimate.
- Crew: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics pay plus employer benefits. Piston airplanes, piston helicopters and the owner-flown turboprop singles assume the owner flies: the crew line is $0 and every page has a switch to add a hired pilot.
- Hangar and insurance: published airport hangar schedules, and an aviation insurance broker's published premiums and hull rates, applied to each model's published price where there is one.
- Maintenance and reserves: engine reserves from the maker's time between overhauls and a published overhaul price where one exists; otherwise, and for maintenance, a stated range for the class, midpoint used and shown on every page.
- Not included: the purchase price, financing, depreciation, taxes, upgrades, and any rental or charter income.
Sources
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (released May 15, 2026)
- BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026 (released September 9, 2026)
- Published airport hangar and tie-down rates (Concord-Padgett Regional, City of Concord NC; Naples Airport Authority FY2026) (read October 15, 2026)
- Published airport hangar rates (Concord-Padgett Regional, City of Concord NC; Naples Airport Authority FY2026; Pierce County WA; Smith Reynolds, Forsyth County NC) (read October 5, 2026)
- BWI Aviation Insurance, "How much is aircraft insurance? A complete 2026 cost breakdown" (January 4, 2026)
- 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
- USDA Forest Service, Helicopter Services Hourly Flight Rates, Fuel Consumption, and Weight Reduction Chart (contracts awarded 2013 to 2017, effective February 16, 2019)
- CRAFT jet fuel price data
- CRAFT fuel price data: AirNav Fuel Price Report, national 100LL average
- FAA task orders for recurrent pilot training with FlightSafety International (USAspending.gov) (orders 2024 to 2026)
- Pilatus CrystalCare example calculations (2026 brochures)
- Fuel burn: the maker's published figure (flight manual, spec sheet or operating-cost sheet) or the USDA Forest Service's helicopter fuel consumption chart; engine overhaul intervals from Lycoming, Continental and the airframe makers. Each is listed on the model's page.
We do not use other cost calculators' or brokers' published budgets. Spot something wrong? Tell us.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a regional airliner cost per hour?
In our estimates at 200 hours a year, from $9,900 an hour (ATR 72-600) to $10,030 (ATR 42-600), median $9,970. That counts the fixed costs spread over the hours as well as fuel, maintenance and reserves.
How much does a regional airliner cost a year to own?
The median model costs about $1,993,000 a year flown 200 hours, before the purchase price, financing and depreciation. Regional turboprop airliner: about $1,993,000.
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