The Learjet 45 aircraft, which is at the disposal of the General Secretariat of the Government, is being serviced in the German city of Nuremberg, where during an engine inspection it was determined that their repair or replacement is necessary.
The Government has published information which, among other things, states that the recommendation of the air service is to replace the existing aircraft, as the Bombardier aircraft proved to be "very good for servicing the needs of the Government", with one of the aircraft types of the same manufacturer.
"In this way, significant savings would be achieved, as the existing aircraft would be returned to the Bombardier company, whose current market value would be included in the purchase price of a newer aircraft, thus avoiding putting the aircraft on the open market, paying commissions to brokers, paying maintenance of the aircraft until the moment of sale (regardless of whether the aircraft is flying or not) and similar".
The current estimated market value of the Learjet 45 plane, registration number 4O-MNE, which is at the disposal of the General Secretariat of the Government, is about 2,5 million dollars.
It is also pointed out that replacing a 25-year-old plane with a much younger one or a new one with similar characteristics, in addition to economy, also offers a higher degree of safety "which certainly comes with every new complex product, even an airplane".
Current status of the aircraft
"According to the engine maintenance contract (MSP - Maintenance ServiCH Program), which Avio servis has with the engine manufacturer Honeywell, the manufacturer is obliged to provide spare parts while Avio servis pays for their installation. The estimated repair time is 1-2 months. Learjet 45 aircraft, registration number 4O-MNE, which is owned by the General Secretariat of the Government of Montenegro, was produced in 1999 and has a total flight time of 10.050 hours. In terms of its dimensions, range, safety, comfort and performance, it proved to be very good for the needs of the Government of Montenegro. it says in the information.
The Learjet 45 aircraft ceased to be produced in 2007, while the production of spare parts ceased in 2014, and this greatly complicates the procurement of spare parts in the event of an aircraft failure, which increases the time spent in the service, i.e. the unavailability of the aircraft for the needs of state authorities. it stands out in the document.
Maintenance costs
A projection of current fixed annual costs for the Learjet 45 was also released.
For the purposes of calculating the savings in case of purchasing a new aircraft, the planned fixed costs on the current Learjet 45 aircraft and a projected flight of 300 hours per year were taken into account in the analysis.
It is also stated what is included in the largest fixed costs of aircraft maintenance.
One of them is Smart Parts - a price paid "per hour of flight" for the purpose of the contract that provides for covering the cost of spare parts in case of aircraft failure (not the engine and parts in the engine). "If any part of the plane breaks down, this program covers all the costs of the parts, while the General Secretariat of the Government covers the costs of replacing them. The current price is $710 per hour, or $300 per year (213.000 hours)".
The second is MSP - the price paid "per flight hour / per engine" for the purposes of the contract that provides for covering the costs of parts in case of engine failure. "If one of the parts on the engine breaks down, this program covers all the costs of the parts, while the General Secretariat of the Government covers the costs of replacing them. The current price is $492,54 per hour, that is, $300 per year (295.524 hours times two engines).
Among the biggest fixed costs is insurance. "The price of insurance is higher this year due to damages that occurred during the failure of the hydraulics of the plane in 2021 and amounts to about 50.000 euros per year. The price of insurance was previously 14.000 euros per year. The assumption is that this price would be lower by buying a new plane."
There are also maintenance costs: "Considering that we have the programs that we mentioned earlier, MSP as well as Smart Parts, as well as the fact that all major work was done on the aircraft during the so-called 'D check', i.e. a major service, for the needs of aircraft maintenance can is expected to be around 80.000 euros per year (the average of the last four years is 75.000 euros)."
Furthermore, the prices per flight hour for the mentioned Smart parts and MSP contracts will be increased by five to eight percent from January 1, 2025.
It should also be noted that other fixed costs of the aircraft, which include annual subscriptions to a number of programs related to aircraft navigation bases, flight fuel calculations, navigation maps, pilot simulator training, salary calculation for employees, fuel, etc. are not the subject of this analysis, because they do not depend from the age of the aircraft.
History of failures
It is also recalled that in November 2021, the plane owned by the General Secretariat of the Government had an incident with a landing gear collision and that after repairs it was returned to service only in July 2022.
"In the course of 2022 and 2023, in addition to this, there were several other minor failures (starter of the right engine, emergency battery, windshield) which are a normal consequence of the age of the aircraft. All these failures were completely repaired and at no point was it endangered However, the elimination of these defects leads to the interruption of the use of the aircraft, frequent trips to the service and the hiring of aircraft of other operators with a market compensation. The replacement of a 25-year-old aircraft with a much younger or new aircraft of similar characteristics also offers an increased level of safety. it brings with it every new complex product, even an airplane," reads the information published by the Government.
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