what are the costs associated with a Boeing 747-400 for long haul flights

Hello zapsachin-ga:

It was a pleasure to answer your question. The question excited me
because I carried out a similar research in the recent past. That
assignment was related to the cost of a charter wide body Jumbo Jet.
Please see:
http://www.answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=267631

Coming back to your question, I have compiled a list of different
sources that may answer your question.

There are three main kinds of costs related to the operation of an
aircraft. These include, the airborne cost (the cost of flying an
aircraft), the ground costs (the cost for the maintenance of the
aircraft, parking etc) and the variable costs. Sometimes the analyst,
for the sake of simplicity, only states the direct (airborne costs)
and the ground costs.

AIRBORNE (Direct Cost)

According to International Civil Association Organization, the average
direct operating (airborne) cost of a B 747-400 in the year 2000 was
$6,761 per hour. That included $2,620 of fuel costs and $4,141 other
costs (see 1). In 1999, the average direct operating (airborne) cost
of a B 747-400 was $6,455 per hour, according to the statistics
published by the Air transport Association of Canada (see 2). Still,
another study by the Stanford University revealed that the airborne
cost of a B 747-400 in the year 2000 was $22.58 per nautical mile (see
3).

GROUND COST

What about the ground costs? Well! A recent study carried out by the
Dayton Airport that quoted some highly reputed sources of air travel
for its figures, suggests that the ground costs in 2003 will be $42.76
per minute in comparison to the airborne cost of $61.08 per minute
(see 4). That means that the ground costs are around 70 percent of the
airborne costs in 2003. From these results we can estimate that the
ground costs of the B 747-400 will be approximately 70 percent of its
direct airborne costs.

Yet, another more precise estimate of the ground costs by PASSUR
revealed that the ground costs of B 747-400, operated by American and
Northwest Airlines, was around $5,200 per hour in 1997 (see 5).

TOTAL OPERATING COST (Airborne + Indirect) 

If that is not sufficient, we can look at the formula projected by the
ATA (Air Transport Authority), which states that the total operating
cost of  a Boeing 747 can be calculated by the formula: Total
Operating Cost / Direct Operating Cost = +1.0
It goes on to state that the total operating costs will be 1.7 to 2.5
times the direct cost (see 3). Taking into account the fact that B
747-400 is more fuel efficient and technically superior to B 747
100/200/300, we can assume that the total operating costs will likely
be less than the average of all B 747?s.

If you want to lean more about the different parameters that affect
the cost of the operation of a B 747-400 and other major airliners,
please consult the historical data at

Aircraft operating costs ? A detailed study
http://www.mit.edu/people/jjlee/docs/lee_thesis.pdf

You may also like to refer to the B 747-400 specifications.
http://www.airguideonline.com/AIRCRAFT744.pdf

____________________

Source
____________________


(1) Aircraft operating costs per hour and related costs (2000)
http://www.icao.int/icao/en/ro/allpirg/allpirg4/wp28app.pdf

(2) Aircraft operating costs per hour and related costs (1999)
http://www.atac.ca/About_The_Industry/Aircraft_Operating_Statistics.html

(3) Airplane Parameters effecting direct operating costs
Direct operating cost of a B747-400
Indirect Operating Costs
http://adg.stanford.edu/aa241/cost/cost.html

(4) Aircraft Operating Costs ? Airborne vs Ground
http://www.landrum-brown.com/masterplans/DAY/Chapter7/DAY_CH7-screen.pdf

(5) Ground Operation Costs B747-400 Major Airlines
http://www.passur.com/pst/report_app_d.htm

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I hope it will help you. Please, clarify if you are not satisfied. I
will be more than happy to serve you.

Sincerely,
Leader-ga.

The cost of the Boeing is not the only hurdle; it's also a question of
gaining access to 'slots' at various airports and these are jealously
guarded.

There was a documentary on a guy who started an airline. His airline
flew from the UK to Florida and he bought three planes to start it
with. I can't remember the name of it, but if you're serious about
starting an airline -- that video might be worth watching.

1.What are the requirements for starting and running an Airline in an
African  country like Nigeria,with major emphasis on local flights?
2.With regards to the short-medium distances between the cities in the
country, which Aircraft types and models will be most applicable?
3.Where can an enterpreneur get the best deals(Cost) with regards to
leases(Wet/Dry) on such Aircrafts?
4.Which type of  systems must be inculcated into the overall Business
systems of the Airline and on which level,taking into account the
establihment of the Airline(with regards to experience and time)?
5.How can the documentary about the guy who started an Airline be gotten?