How is a ferry flight priced?
Most ferry pilots, including us, price a trip as pilot days plus expenses. You pay for the pilot's time, and you pay what the trip actually costs to run, with receipts. There's no markup on fuel or hotels, and no padded flat fee.
A billable day is any travel or flight day, from the time the pilot leaves home base until they're back. That includes a day spent flying on the airline to reach your airplane, if the trip starts somewhere other than Van Nuys.
What are Gold Seal Ferry's day rates?
- Single-engine piston: $475 per day (Cessna 150 to 182, Piper Cherokee, Archer)
- High-performance or complex: $550 per day (Bonanza, Mooney, Cirrus, Piper Arrow)
- Tailwheel, STOL or aerobatic: $625 per day (Maule, Kitfox, Citabria, Decathlon, Pitts)
- Light piston twin: $650 per day (Seneca, Baron, Apache)
The full table is on the pricing page.
What expenses does the owner pay?
These are billed at cost, with receipts:
- Fuel and oil
- Lodging and meals on overnight trips
- Landing, ramp, parking and tie-down fees
- The pilot's airline or ground travel to the aircraft and back home
- Anything else the trip needs, like a chart or database update, if you approve it
Example 1: Cessna 172, Van Nuys (KVNY) to Scottsdale (KSDL)
Scottsdale is about 330 nautical miles from Van Nuys in a straight line. A Cessna 172 cruising around 110 to 120 knots covers that in about three hours of flying, plus time for a possible fuel stop. The airplane starts at our home base, so the pilot flies out in the morning and takes an airline flight home that evening. That's one billable day.
| Item | Basis (estimate) | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot day rate | 1 day × $475 (single-engine) | $475 |
| Fuel | ≈ 3.2 hours × 9 gal/hr ≈ 30 gal × $7.50 | ≈ $225 |
| Airport fees | Possible fuel stop and arrival ramp fee (assumed) | ≈ $0–50 |
| Pilot travel home | Airline Phoenix to Burbank plus rideshares (assumed) | ≈ $200–350 |
| Estimated total | ≈ $900–1,100 |
Example 2: Cessna 182, Van Nuys (KVNY) to Dallas area (KADS)
Addison, near Dallas, is about 1,080 nautical miles from Van Nuys direct, and a little more once the route works around terrain and airspace. A Cessna 182 at around 140 knots needs roughly eight to nine hours of flying with two or three fuel stops. We plan legs to finish in daylight, so this is normally two flying days with one night on the road, and an airline flight home at the end of day two. The 182's 230-horsepower engine puts it in the high-performance rate.
| Item | Basis (estimate) | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot day rate | 2 days × $550 (high-performance) | $1,100 |
| Fuel | ≈ 8.5 hours × 13 gal/hr ≈ 110 gal × $7.50 | ≈ $825 |
| Lodging and meals | 1 night plus 2 days of meals (assumed) | ≈ $200–300 |
| Airport fees | 2–3 fuel stops and arrival (assumed) | ≈ $50–150 |
| Pilot travel home | Airline Dallas to Burbank plus rideshares (assumed) | ≈ $250–450 |
| Estimated total | ≈ $2,400–2,800 |
Estimate only. These figures are planning estimates, not a quote or a record of a past trip. Fuel is figured at an assumed $7.50 per gallon of 100LL (AirNav listed U.S. and California averages of about $7.28 and $7.71 in early November 2026). Airfare, lodging, meals and fees are assumptions. Your written quote uses your aircraft, route and dates.
What makes a trip cost more?
- Starting away from Van Nuys. If your airplane is in another state, the pilot's airline trip out is a travel day and a ticket. Buying a plane out of state? See how to get it home.
- Weather and maintenance delays. The pilot in command won't push weather or a mechanical concern. How delay days are billed is written into your quote before you accept it.
- Slower or shorter-range aircraft. Small tanks and lower cruise speeds mean more stops and sometimes an extra day. That's typical for tailwheel and light sport aircraft.
- Paperwork that isn't ready. An expired annual or a missing document can hold the trip on the ground. Our owner prep checklist helps avoid that.
- A special flight permit. If the airplane isn't currently airworthy, you'll need a ferry permit before we can go, and the permit can limit the route or the weather we fly in.
Is a ferry pilot cheaper than flying it myself?
If you're current, comfortable in the airplane, and your insurance covers you, flying it yourself saves the day rate. Owners hire a ferry pilot when they don't have the time, aren't current or insured in the type, or don't want to fly an unfamiliar airplane over unfamiliar terrain. Your fuel, fees and travel costs are about the same either way.
Why not price by the mile?
Per-mile pricing hides the parts of a trip that really drive cost: getting the pilot to the airplane, the acceptance inspection, weather days and getting the pilot home. A short hop and a long cross-country carry the same fixed travel time, so a per-mile price either overcharges long trips or undercharges short ones. A day rate plus actual expenses keeps it honest.
How do I get an exact number?
Send us the make and model, tail number, where it is, where it's going and your dates. We'll reply with a written quote listing the day rate, the expected number of days, an expense estimate, and the assigned pilot's qualifications for your insurance broker. Ferry flights are pilot services for the owner under 14 CFR Part 91, and we don't carry passengers or cargo for hire.
Next steps: see ferry pilot rates, read how a ferry flight works, check the ferry flight FAQ, or request a written quote.