Cost definition
Each aircraft contributes with its “throughput” or its operating margin (sales price – direct costs) to cover the fixed costs specifically related to the aircraft itself and therefore the general costs of the structure and then, once these have been covered, to earnings.
To help understand the model we are going to study, let’s describe and understand all the costs related to the management of a single aircraft and then the structure costs. The costs related to the aircraft will be divided first of all between fixed and variable.
Fixed costs of the aircraft are those that remain unchanged even when the vehicle is stationary in the hangar. They are generally the cost of the asset (leasing or depreciation), insurance, the share of costs for technical management (if contracted externally), surveillance in operation and a fixed share for maintenance that is not always proportional to the use of the vehicle.
Variable costs are those directly proportional to usage: fuel, hourly maintenance (which depends only on the flight), costs for airport services and small expenses related to flights.
The structural costs instead refer to the staff, the hangar, the offices, the classrooms, the equipment, the consumables that I must have even before starting my activity.
