Yup, it is a lot, but consider that they bought the first 2 757's and that was a sizeable chunk of cash to gather up! Start up costs, are unreal, how about enough parts to keep those 3 in the air! The first year would be lean as far as recovering costs, and don't forget about insurance! Isn't oil over 50 US a tub? Add to that the govt tax...But where the numbers quoted here came from is a mystery guess. It's a private company and as such doesn't have to let anyone except the board know. These guesses have been out for a while but that's all they are. If it is that much and it was put on Slyvesters desk, it wasn't fair, he was only there for what? Maybe a year at the most? Gotta be some other reason. He is also an American so maybe it has some immigration law attached to it.
Cheers
LC