is this price quote a bit high or am I missing something?
 

I'm in tokyo this week and felt like doing a photoflight, so I emailed a local operator about a 1h charter. the quote I got back was PY\189,000 for 1h in an R44. that's roughly 1855 USD. wow. I remember being quoted 550 USD in LA for a jet ranger.

I made sure there wasn't any miscommunication and now wonder what makes this tokyo price so high. is flying in japan that much more expensive (gas doesn't really seem to cover it) or am I getting taken for a ride in more ways than one?

bonus points if you can recommend anyone who can beat this quote. I actually just need one seat, doors off. an R22 won't work for me, anything else is fine.

Welcome to Japan, where private aircraft and flights are very limited in number.
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Last time I inquired in Japan for aerial photography, with Aero Asahi, I was quoted 300,000JPY/h for an AS355 (about $2950/hr). That's 50% more than I pay in the US (about $1800/hr usually).

Not sure where you were getting JetRangers for $550/hr but that's a hell of a deal. That's cheaper than I see most R44s, for charter at least.

There might be forces in play that you do not know about.
Is there a fuel tax? How high is VAT? Any other stealers?
The Nigerian CAA for example takes 5% out of every invoice plus $36 for every leg you fly, even in uncontrolled airspace.:ugh:

Germany charges $2600 for a 355, plus 19% VAT, Spain charges about $3000+21% and in Nigeria you pay about $5000 for same 355.

7ish years ago a JetRanger was 550 USD in Oklahoma, instructor included. I'm sure its gone up, but i doubt by much.


As for Germany -> Doing a quick search, i found you can get a single turbine for 500 euro's in Bonn (not sure if instructor included, but doubtful).

You won't get an R44 for 500, let alone a turbine.:sad:

Found a JetRanger in Oklahoma for $800/hr, and that's among the cheapest I've ever seen one. In most major US cities I've almost never seen a turbine machine for under $1000/hr.

"You won't get an R44 for 500, let alone a turbine."

Hmm .. checked again. My mistake. the offer i found said "1 hour" ... I should of read over the description ;-) - it only included a 20 min flight, 40 min ground part.

PM Sent
 

PM Sent.
Regards
Kami

>Not sure where you were getting JetRangers for $550/hr but that's a hell of a deal. That's cheaper than I see most R44s, for charter at least.

that was in van nuys a couple of years ago. it was a quote from a flight instructor, so perhaps he had plans to take someone else along. I ended up taking an R44 out of torrence, so I never got to find out.

>Germany charges $2600 for a 355, plus 19% VAT, Spain charges about $3000+21% and in Nigeria you pay about $5000 for same 355.

I think japan charges 8% vat, which is included in that list. tokyo has a lot of twins, which is why I feared at first they had rules similar to london, but then I came across the R44.