Learjet 45 I-FORU, operated by Avio Nord, photographed in January 2018. · Photo: Anna Zvereva, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Learjet · Light Jet
Learjet 45
The first of the Learjet 45 family: an all-new design later developed into the 45XR, Learjet 40 and Learjet 75.
The Learjet 45 offers a roomy light-jet cabin, a private lavatory and 460-kt cruise for about $1.75M to $2.3M. The catch: running costs near $1.6M a year, long takeoff runs on hot days, and age-related directives to check.
Buy it if
You usually fly three to six people on trips of 1,000–1,700 nm, want an enclosed lavatory and room to move around, and have a professional two-pilot crew and a realistic maintenance budget.
Skip it if
You need to stand up in the cabin, regularly fly from short or high-elevation runways on hot days, want one pilot up front, or cannot absorb a six-figure inspection or avionics bill on a $2M jet.
Biggest compromise
Runway and payload. At maximum weight the original 45 needs about 4,400 ft to take off at sea level and roughly 7,300 ft at a 5,000 ft airport on a warm day.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$2.1M
typical asking · $1.75M–$2.29M
What it costs per year
$1.61M
at 300 hrs · two professional pilots
How far it flies
1,971 nm
About 1,820 nm with 4 passengers; about 1,175 nm at maximum payload
How fast
460 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
8
8 typical (9 with lavatory seat)
Pilots needed
2
Certified for two pilots; there is no single-pilot version.
Price
What one costs to buy
Typical asking price
$2,095,000
Where asking prices sit
Low
$1.75M
Typical
$2.1M
High
$2.29M
Most asking prices fall inside this band.
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
Six of 19 listings show prices, from $1.75M to $2.295M. Engine plan coverage, engine upgrades and newer displays explain most of the spread.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
Learjet 45 · This aircraft
$2.1M
Sits between the Hawker 400XP (400A) and the Learjet 45XR.
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$326,43520%
- Recurrent training$44,8263%
- Hangar$38,3362%
- Insurance$29,5652%
- Management$48,0003%
- Subscriptions and databases$10,0001%
- Fuel$500,55631%
- Airframe maintenance$263,85016%
- Engine program$282,00018%
- Landing, handling and trip costs$63,7504%
Fuel is the biggest single cost at 31% of the total.
The JetGrade
71 out of 100 — Slightly above its class
Peer group: Beechcraft Hawker 400XP, Beechcraft Premier IA, Learjet 40, Cessna Citation Encore+
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on cabin & passenger comfort, weakest on reliability & support.
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
- 3.3 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · Comfortably within range with four passengers
- 3.8 hr
Teterboro → San Juan
1,410 nm · Over-water leg; within range with four passengers
- 5.7 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
All-new design with a longer cabin and enclosed lavatory.
What changed from the Learjet 31A
- All-new, larger fuselage, wing and tail; the cabin grows from about 13 ft to 19 ft 9 in.
- Enclosed aft lavatory replaces the 31A's toilet under a seat cushion.
- Honeywell Primus 1000 with four screens and on-screen engine readouts replaces Bendix/King displays.
- Honeywell TFE731-20 engines with digital engine control replace the older TFE731-2.
- Range with four passengers rises from about 1,250 nm to about 1,800 nm.
- Optional APU, two-zone climate control, brake-by-wire and a heated external baggage compartment.
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 45
- 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
← 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
- 68
- Price
- $3.6M
- Cost per year
- $1.67M
- Range
- 1,939 nm
- Speed
- 457 kt
- Seats
- 8
- Cabin length
- 19′ 9″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 2004–2012
Alternative
- JetGrade
- Not yet graded
- Range
- 1,800 nm
- Speed
- 430 kt
- Seats
- 7
- Years built
- 1998–2004
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 67
- Price
- $1.79M–$2.1M guide
- Cost per year
- $1.27M
- Range
- 1,510 nm
- Speed
- 450 kt
- Seats
- 7
- Cabin length
- 15′ 6″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 2003–2010
- Learjet 45XR instead: The same cabin with 1,000 lb more takeoff weight and hot-day engines, easing the runway and payload limits, usually at higher asking prices.
- Cessna Citation Excel instead: A taller 5 ft 8 in stand-up cabin and shorter takeoff runs, in exchange for roughly 30 kt less cruise speed.
- Beechcraft Hawker 400XP instead: A cheaper way into a light jet with an enclosed lavatory, but with a smaller cabin and shorter range.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Honeywell TFE731-20AR (many upgraded to -20BR) · 3,500 lbf each
Engine hours until overhaul
- 12-month inspection · 300 hr
- 24-month inspection · 600 hr
- 48-month inspection · 1,200 hr
- 96-month inspection · 2,400 hr
- Engine mid-life inspection · 2,500 hr
- Engine core inspection · 5,000 hr
- 9,600-hour inspection · 9,600 hr
- Landing gear inspection every 96 months
Most Learjet 45s for sale have engines on Honeywell's pay-per-hour plan, recently quoted at about $500 to $570 per engine hour.
Known issues
Center-wing corrosion checks
A 2021 directive requires repeat corrosion inspections of a center-wing splice every eight years; repair costs, if corrosion is found, are open-ended.
Engine plan status drives value
Engines off an hourly plan face large mid-life and core inspection bills; most aircraft for sale are enrolled.
Aging tube displays
The original Primus 1000 screens are aging; replacement displays cost about $300,000 unless already upgraded.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
Specialist shops such as Duncan Aviation, Spectra Jet and Omni publish Learjet 45 inspection services, and Honeywell's engine plan network supports the TFE731-20 engines.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- A cabin 19 ft 9 in long and 5 ft 1 in wide, with an enclosed aft lavatory and eight club seats.
- Cruises at about 460 kt (530 mph) and flies up to 51,000 ft, above most weather and airline traffic.
- About 1,820 nm with four passengers and reserves, enough for Dallas to New York or Los Angeles to Chicago nonstop.
Limitations
- Takeoff needs about 4,400 ft at sea level and around 7,300 ft at a 5,000 ft airport on a warm day.
- With full fuel it carries only about 800 lb, and range falls to about 1,175 nm at maximum payload.
- Budget roughly $1.6M a year at 300 hours; replacing the original tube displays can cost about $300,000.
The Learjet 45 was Learjet's first all-new design in decades. It first flew in 1995, entered service in 1998 and was replaced by the heavier 45XR in 2004. De Havilland Canada built the wing and Shorts in Belfast built the fuselage and tail, and the airplane was certified to the same Part 25 standards as airliners. About 240 original 45s were built. The same airframe later became the 45XR, the shorter Learjet 40 and the Learjet 70 and 75.
Pilot's take
Pilots generally describe the 45 as a stable, easy-handling Learjet with gentle stall behavior and a modern two-crew cockpit. The Primus 1000 layout and digital engine controls cut workload compared with older Learjets, and 51,000 ft certification keeps it above most weather. It asks for respect on the ground side of the performance charts: at heavy weights on warm days, takeoff distances grow quickly, and payload with full fuel is thin, so trip planning matters. The cockpit is snug for taller crews. Two current, well-trained pilots and a shop that knows the airplane are the right setup.
Who this is for
Owners, companies and charter operators who regularly carry four to six people on 1,000–1,800 nm trips, want a private lavatory and a proper cabin on a light-jet budget, and fly from runways of 5,000 ft or longer.
Ask about this aircraft
Answers come only from our research file on the Learjet 45.
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