Learjet 40 CC-CMS of Los Cedros Aviación in its hangar in Chile. · Photo: Aeroprints.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Learjet · Light Jet
Learjet 40
Short-body entry model of the Learjet 45 family, built before the stronger-engined 40XR took over.
The Learjet 40 gives you Learjet speed and altitude, an enclosed lavatory and half-continent range for about $1.6M to $2.5M. The catches are a small fleet, no auxiliary power unit, runway needs near 4,300 ft, and base engines that lose power on hot days.
Buy it if
You fly up to four people on trips of 1,000 to 1,700 nm, want to cruise fast and high above weather, need a private lavatory, and mostly use runways of 5,000 ft or longer.
Skip it if
You operate from short or hot, high-elevation runways, need more than six seats, want a single-pilot jet, or prefer a large fleet with plenty of resale buyers.
Biggest compromise
The engines. The base Learjet 40's Honeywell TFE731-20AR engines give full takeoff power only up to 88°F (31°C), so summer departures from hot or high airports can mean leaving fuel or passengers behind.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$1.9M–$2.5M
guide value (Aircraft Bluebook (shown on AvBuyer))
What it costs per year
$1.27M
at 300 hrs · two professional pilots
How far it flies
1,857 nm
1,573–1,824 nm with passengers
How fast
465 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
6
6 typical (7 with lavatory seat)
Pilots needed
2
Certified for two pilots; there is no single-pilot version.
Price
What one costs to buy
Guide value
$1.9M–$2.5M
Other sites
11.1% of the fleet
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
None of the four listed Learjet 40s shows a price. Published guide values run about $1.9M to $2.5M by year; similar 40XRs ask $1.895M to $2.95M.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
Learjet 40 · This aircraft
$1.9M–$2.5M guide
Guide value, not a listed asking price.
Sits between the Learjet 45 and the Learjet 70.
For sale now
None listed right now
Cost to own
What it costs per year to run
300hours / year
Per year
Per flight hour
Estimate — your operator will quote actual numbers.
Fuel, airframe maintenance, engine program and landing, handling and trip costs rise as you fly more. Two professional pilots, recurrent training, hangar, insurance, management and subscriptions and databases stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- Two professional pilots$271,30421%
- Recurrent training$40,0003%
- Hangar$35,1313%
- Insurance$25,2802%
- Management$48,0004%
- Subscriptions and databases$10,0001%
- Fuel$493,12239%
- Airframe maintenance$121,05010%
- Engine program$162,00013%
- Landing, handling and trip costs$60,0005%
Fuel is the biggest single cost at 39% of the total.
The JetGrade
69 out of 100 — Below its class average
Peer group: Cessna Citation Encore+, Hawker 400XP, Cessna Citation CJ3, Beechcraft Premier IA, Learjet 31A
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on speed & trip time, weakest on running costs.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-09-29.
Where it flies
Sample trips and reach
Typical trips on a map
Nonstop
Depends on weight or weather
Fuel stop likely
Out of reach
5 of 8 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 0.9 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Short hop, well within range
- 1.9 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Hot-and-high; depends on weight and weather
- 2.2 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm
- 2.5 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm
- 3.2 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · Comfortably within range with four aboard
- 3.7 hr
Teterboro → San Juan
1,410 nm · Over-water leg within range with four aboard
- 5.5 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Needs one stop, typically mid-continent
Los Angeles → Honolulu
2,215 nm · Beyond range, with no fuel stop en route
Lineage
What came before and after
1998–2004
Learjet 45
Clean-sheet parent design with a longer cabin and an auxiliary power unit.
2004–2007
Learjet 40
Shortened 45 with six seats, no auxiliary power unit and TFE731-20AR engines.
What changed from the Learjet 31A
- All-new airframe derived from the Learjet 45, replacing the 31A's older Learjet 35-based fuselage.
- Cabin height grows from 4 ft 4 in to 4 ft 11 in, with an enclosed lavatory.
- Honeywell TFE731-20AR engines of 3,500 lb thrust each replace the 31A's TFE731-2 series.
- Honeywell Primus 1000 four-screen cockpit replaces the 31A's Bendix/King EFIS.
- Range with four passengers rises from about 1,250 nm to about 1,824 nm.
- Maximum takeoff weight rises from 17,000 lb to 20,350 lb.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Silhouette · scaled to length
Length
Wingspan
Height
Inside the cabin
Cabin length
Width
Height
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
Learjet 40
- JetGrade
- 69
- Price
- $1.9M–$2.5M guide
- Cost per year
- $1.27M
- Range
- 1,857 nm
- Speed
- 465 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 17′ 8″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 2004–2007
← Before
- JetGrade
- 64
- Price
- $760K
- Cost per year
- $1.47M
- Range
- 1,290 nm
- Speed
- 459 kt
- Seats
- 7
- Cabin length
- 12′ 11″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 1991–2003
After →
- JetGrade
- 70
- Price
- $2.07M
- Cost per year
- $1.57M
- Range
- 1,935 nm
- Speed
- 465 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 17′ 8″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 2006–2012
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 72
- Cost per year
- $1.25M
- Range
- 1,494 nm
- Speed
- 426 kt
- Seats
- 7
- Cabin length
- 17′ 4″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 2007–2010
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 71
- Price
- $2.1M
- Cost per year
- $1.61M
- Range
- 1,971 nm
- Speed
- 460 kt
- Seats
- 8
- Cabin length
- 19′ 9″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 1998–2004
- Learjet 40XR instead: The same airframe with stronger -20BR engines and a 21,000 lb maximum weight, so it performs better on hot and high days, typically for about $200,000 more.
- Cessna Citation Encore+ instead: A straight-wing Citation with a wider cabin and shorter runway needs, trading away some cruise speed and altitude.
- Learjet 45 instead: The longer original model, with two more seats, an auxiliary power unit and more fuel, at a similar price for early examples.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Honeywell TFE731-20AR · 3,500 lbf each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Phase A inspection · 300 hr
- Phase B inspection · 600 hr
- Phase C inspection · 1,200 hr
- Phase D inspection · 2,400 hr
- Engine mid-life inspection · 2,500 hr
- Engine core inspection · 5,000 hr
- 12-year airframe inspection · 9,600 hr
Honeywell's Maintenance Service Plan, JSSI and the Engine Assurance Program cover these engines. Listed aircraft commonly show MSP Gold or JSSI enrollment.
Known issues
Hot-day engine limits
Base -20AR engines hold full takeoff power only to 88°F; upgrading to 40XR engines cost about $400,000 when offered.
Landing gear inspections and limits
Directives set gear actuator life limits and repeat gear inspections; overhaul shops have limited capacity and long turn times.
Aging cockpit display tubes
Original Primus 1000 tube displays are obsolescent; LCD replacement units exist and add cost if not already fitted.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
Bombardier still holds the type certificate and supports Learjets through its own service centers, mobile teams and authorized shops. Honeywell and independent shops such as Duncan Aviation and StandardAero maintain the TFE731-20 engines.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- Cruises at up to about 465 kt and climbs to 45,000 ft in about 26 minutes at full weight.
- About 1,824 nm of range with four passengers, enough for Los Angeles to Chicago nonstop in still air.
- Enclosed, externally serviced rear lavatory and a heated 50 cu ft external baggage hold.
Limitations
- Needs about 4,330 ft of runway at maximum weight, and full engine power only up to 88°F.
- No auxiliary power unit, so cabin cooling and engine starts need ground power or a running engine.
- Only about 36 base-model 40s fly today, which keeps the resale market small and slow.
The Learjet 40 is a shortened version of the Learjet 45. Bombardier removed about 24.5 inches of fuselage ahead of the wing, took out three cabin windows, deleted the auxiliary power unit and reduced standard fuel to 5,375 lb, creating a lower-priced entry model that entered service with Flexjet in January 2004. It sits between the older, cramped Learjet 31A and the larger Learjet 45 in the family, and it was quickly followed by the 40XR, which used the same airframe with stronger engines. Around 37 base-model 40s were built before production switched to the XR.
Pilot's take
The Learjet 40 is a modern Learjet in character: quick to climb, at home in the mid-40s flight levels and flown through a four-screen Honeywell cockpit. The swept wing and small winglets suit it to fast, high cruising rather than short, slow approaches. The planning discipline is all about temperature and runway. On a warm day the base engines run out of thrust margin sooner than the 40XR's, so takeoff weight and runway choice need care. It is a two-pilot airplane, and it rewards a well-trained crew.
Who this is for
Owners and companies that fly small groups on regional and half-continent trips, value speed and a private lavatory, fly from longer runways, and can budget for two professional pilots and a jet with a small fleet.
Ask about this aircraft
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