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Comment by vivzkestrel | Hacker News Reader

stupid question, lets say someone does buy this for 25 million, how much expenditure per month are we looking at? can someone economic or aviation expert shed some light on this?

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It depends on how much you operate it. They (used to) cost around $1.6m per month to lease. Airlines typically get around 14c per seat per mile in revenue, and would make a slight loss if it wasn't for their frequent flyer programs (a weird form of a bank). There is nothing more profitable than flying a full A380. There is nothing more loss making than flying a not full A380.

The costs to update the interior (eg ~450 new seats, in-flight entertainment, carpets, catering) is around $30m which is the same price as a new Boeing 737 (seating ~160) in bulk orders.

This aircraft is also due maintenance on most of its engines, and almost certainly a heavy maintenance (D check) where the aircraft is almost completely taken apart, inspected, and reassembled. A ballpark for this is $10-$15 million, done every ~6 years, and often combined with a cabin refresh.

The original owner was looking at a ~$50+ million bill for maintenance, cabin refresh, ongoing crew training and equipment, maintenance crews and spares, paying for the larger gates at various airports etc. It wasn't worth it to them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_maintenance_checks

You don’t have to do the D check in the U.S though. China and Mexico will do it for fraction of that

The maintenance is mostly based around reaching certain numbers of flying hours, so the costs are mostly based on how much you fly it, which also includes the high costs of fuel. Having a couple of A380 rated captains to call on isn't cheap either. Since making a profit per flight on an A380 is difficult on the vast majority of routes for the vast majority of airlines, that means it's basically spare parts.

Wouldn't cost anything to maintain as a garden ornament though

> Wouldn't cost anything to maintain as a garden ornament though

Those HOA fines will add up.

You need to have trained pilots to operate this. Investing in a simulator is a good idea, but you really need to give all your pilots at least an hour per month in this of flying time (the FAA might allow less but do you really want inexperienced pilots in control when you are on?), that is probably paid time since keeping certification. Note that is per pilot, This is often used for long flights where you need to switch pilots and let some sleep, plus you want pilots for when one is sick or on vacation. Figure you are paying 6 pilots to fly this thing - you can maybe find some willing to do this part time (still a good income for a pilot). You also need mechanics, since this is a rare airplane you cannot hope to contract with someone else when you need it (you can contract with someone else perhaps, but it needs to be a long term contract so they keep their mechanics trained)

Makes me think of when 3 crypto-bros bought a cruise ship: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/sep/07/disastrous-voya...

That situation escalated quickly:

https://www.ft.com/content/8d3c8121-5963-466c-96d8-7dda7e9ce...

Article title: The fake hitman, the crypto king and a wild revenge plan gone bad (Oct 2023)

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