From the existing guide library. Pricing, loan examples and source dates may be historical. Use current written quotes for your purchase. The worksheets use the shared calculation method.

The True Operating Cost of Airbus AS350

The Airbus AS350 is the industry-standard single-engine commercial helicopter offering 20,000+ foot altitude capability, exceptional reliability, and multi-mission flexibility. Plan for $140,000–$170,000 annually in operating costs at 100 flight hours, or $1,400–$1,700 per hour. The AS350 dominates mountain rescue, tourism, and specialized operations with unmatched altitude performance and operational versatility.

Quick Specs: Airbus AS350 B3e

Specification AS350 B3e
Engine 1 × Turbomeca Arriel 2D (850 shp turboprop)
Fuel Burn 65–80 gal/hr cruise
Cruise Speed 120–135 mph
Service Ceiling 20,000+ ft
Useful Load 2,600–2,900 lbs
Seats 6–7
Range 500–600 nm

TL;DR: Airbus AS350 Annual Operating Cost Summary

  • Fixed costs: $45,000–$60,000/year (insurance $8,000–$12,000, hangar $12,000–$16,000, annuals $4,000–$6,000, rotor checks)
  • Variable costs at 100 hours: $95,000–$110,000/year (Jet-A fuel, oils, engine reserves)
  • Total at 100 hours: $140,000–$170,000/year (~$1,400–$1,700/hour)
  • Finance a $1,800,000 AS350: Add $26,500/month ($318,000/year) at 6.5% over 10 years
  • At 50 hours: ~$110,000–$140,000/year (~$2,200–$2,800/hour)
  • At 200 hours: ~$235,000–$280,000/year (~$1,175–$1,400/hour)

Commercial Single-Engine Helicopter Operating Costs

Fixed Costs

  • Insurance: $8,000–$12,000/year for $1,500,000–$2,000,000 hull with 500+ pilot hours
  • Hangar: $12,000–$16,000/year (commercial helicopter facility)
  • Annual inspection: $4,000–$6,000 labor (single-engine rotor system)
  • Rotor system checks: $2,000–$3,500/year

Variable Costs (per flight hour)

  • Jet-A fuel: 72.5 gal/hr × $5.50/gal = ~$398/hour
  • Oil and hydraulic fluid: $6–$10/hour
  • Engine reserve: $19–$24/hour ($70K ÷ 3,500 TBO)
  • Rotor blade maintenance: $25–$35/hour
  • Helicopter maintenance: $35–$50/hour (transmission, systems)
  • Landing fees: $20–$60/landing

Jet-A Fuel & Operating Economics

Fuel Cost by Hours

Annual Hours Gallons Jet-A Cost @ $5.50/gal $/Hour
50 3,625 $19,937 $398
100 7,250 $39,875 $398
150 10,875 $59,812 $398
200 14,500 $79,750 $398

Maintenance & Engine Reserves

Turbomeca Arriel 2D Engine

  • Arriel 2D: 3,500 hours TBO per engine
  • Overhaul cost: $72,000–$88,000
  • Engine reserve: $80,000 ÷ 3,500 = $23/hour
  • Reliability: Proven turboshaft technology with excellent support

Commercial Helicopter Maintenance

  • Main rotor blade inspection: $1,500–$2,500/year
  • Transmission service: $2,000–$3,000/year
  • Hydraulic system flush: $1,000–$1,500/year
  • Tail rotor maintenance: $800–$1,200/year
  • Budget: $60–$80/hour for all maintenance

Insurance & Storage

Commercial Helicopter Insurance

  • $1,500,000 hull, 500+ hours, commercial: $8,000–$10,000/year
  • $2,000,000 hull, 100–250 hours: $11,000–$13,000/year
  • High-altitude operations: +30–50% premium

Storage Costs

Option Monthly Annual
Commercial Hangar $1,000–$1,350 $12,000–$16,200
Outdoor Tie-Down $300–$600 $3,600–$7,200

Annual Ownership Scenarios

Operating Cost (Not Financed)

Hours/Year Fixed Variable Total $/Hour
50 $52,500 $52,500 $105,000 $2,100
100 $52,500 $105,000 $157,500 $1,575
200 $52,500 $210,000 $262,500 $1,312

Total Cost of Ownership (With Financing)

Assume $1,800,000 Airbus AS350, 6.5% APR, 10 years = $318,000/year debt service.

Hours/Year Operating Finance Total $/Hour
100 $157,500 $318,000 $475,500 $4,755
200 $262,500 $318,000 $580,500 $2,903

Financing the Airbus AS350

  • Purchase price: $1,200,000–$2,200,000 (depends on year, avionics, hours)
  • Down payment: 15–20%
  • Loan amount: $1,000,000–$1,850,000
  • Term: 10–15 years
  • APR: 5.75–7.0% (2025)
  • Monthly payment: $15,500–$29,000

Lender Requirements: 650+ credit, commercial helicopter rated, $300,000+ annual income, business plan, hull insurance $1.5M+. Lenders like JakenAviation support commercial helicopter financing for rescue, tourism, and specialty operators.

Airbus AS350 vs. Competitors

  • vs. Robinson R66: AS350 larger payload and altitude; R66 lighter and cheaper
  • vs. Airbus AS365: AS365 twin-engine heavier; AS350 single-engine lighter
  • vs. Bell 407: Bell faster; AS350 better altitude performance

Get prequalified for commercial helicopter aircraft financing »

Sources: Airbus Helicopters Specs | AOPA Owner Reports | FAA TCDS

Operating-cost worksheet

Defaults are round assumptions, not a shop quote. AOPA’s worksheet splits fixed costs (insurance, hangar, the annual), direct costs (fuel and maintenance), and a reserve (overhaul cost divided by hours to TBO). Their old teaching example used half the hourly fuel bill as a maintenance starting point. Type your own gph and prices.

Stop dividing one year’s costs by too few hours

The expensive mistake on a Airbus As350 is to take insurance, hangar, and an annual, divide by 80 or 100 hours, and call the result the cost of flying. Those bills arrive if you fly or not. AOPA’s operating-cost worksheet treats them as fixed costs, then adds direct costs that do move with hours: fuel, oil, and maintenance. A reserve for the engine or propeller is a third bucket, optional in their sheet and not optional in real life if you intend to keep the aircraft through an overhaul. The worksheet on this page follows that split. Any annual dollar range printed higher up on this page, if it does not cite an invoice or AOPA, is an illustration. Do not repeat it as a quote.

Fuel is a multiplication, not a rumor

AOPA’s instruction is price per gallon times gallons per hour. The gallons per hour belong to the way you actually fly the Airbus As350, not to the brochure cruise at the most flattering altitude. Oil is the same idea: price per quart times quarts per hour. Type both into the worksheet. If you do not know burn, leave a conservative guess and replace it after five tanks of your own notes. A blog’s “cost per hour” that hides the burn and the fuel price is not usable, because you cannot tell which assumption broke.

The maintenance starting point AOPA actually published

For a first pass, AOPA equates routine engine and airframe maintenance, on an hourly basis, to about half the hourly fuel and oil bill, and says to adjust it once you have your own invoices. The checkbox on the worksheet does that and nothing fancier. Turn it off and type a maintenance figure when you have one. A separate AOPA line for avionics is 5 percent of the avionics’ replacement value per 500 hours. That is a starting point from their sheet, not a prediction that your Airbus As350 panel will fail on schedule. Unsupported radios cost more than that formula, because the fix is often a replacement, not a repair.

The overhaul reserve is a division

AOPA’s method is the shop’s overhaul or remanufacture price divided by hours left until the published TBO, not divided by the full TBO if the engine is already mid-time. Their sheet walks through a Cessna 172 example: $17,000 over 2,000 hours is $8.50 an hour, while a $27,000 reman with 900 hours left is $30 an hour. Those dollars are the example in the article, and they are not a 2026 quote for a Airbus As350. The arithmetic is what you copy. Propeller overhaul, in the same AOPA sheet, is penciled at about $0.25 an hour for a fixed-pitch prop and about $1 an hour for a constant-speed prop, with more for a three-blade. Treat those as historical placeholders and ask a prop shop.

Sources