For aviation employers
An open aviation role doesn't have one standard daily cost. What it costs depends on the work you can't do, the overtime and contract labor you use to cover it, any contract terms tied to turnaround, and whether you still have enough qualified people to sign off the work. The most useful number is one you build from your own operation, line by line, before you approve a search.
Why a borrowed “cost per day” figure misleads
Generic figures for the daily cost of a vacancy are easy to find and hard to use. They mix industries, assume costs you may not have, and leave out the ones you do have. Lost billable hours matter far more to a repair station with a full hangar than to a flight department whose aircraft can wait for a scheduled inspection.
Treat any outside figure as a prompt for questions, not as your estimate. The point of the exercise is to know which of your costs grow every week the seat stays empty, and roughly how fast.
The five cost lines to check
Most aviation vacancies affect some combination of the five lines below. Not every line applies to every role, and a line you can’t support with your own records should stay blank rather than be guessed.
1. Deferred or lost work
Work you turn away, push back, or can’t schedule because the role is open. Use your own work orders, quotes, or schedule: hours deferred × your contribution margin per hour, not the full billing rate.
2. Overtime to cover the gap
Hours your current team works beyond 40 in a week. Under federal rules, nonexempt overtime is paid at no less than one and one-half times the regular rate. Record the hours and the rate actually paid.
3. Contract or temporary labor
The premium over your normal cost for a contractor covering the role, including any travel or lodging you pay. Use the invoice or quote, minus what the open position would have cost for the same hours.
4. Contract and turnaround terms
Penalties, credits, or lost renewals linked to missed turnaround times. Only count terms that are actually in your agreements and that the vacancy actually triggered or puts at risk.
5. Qualified-capacity limits
Some vacancies limit what you’re allowed to do, not just how fast you can do it. A certificated repair station must have enough qualified people for the work on its certificate, and in the U.S. the people who approve articles for return to service must be certificated under Part 65. Losing an inspector or a certificated technician can cap your capacity before any other cost shows up.
A simple vacancy-cost worksheet
Use one row per cost line. Fill in only what you can source, and name who owns each number so the estimate can be refreshed weekly without starting over.
| Cost line | What to gather | Weekly estimate | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deferred or lost work | Deferred hours from the schedule or quotes; contribution margin per hour | Deferred hours × margin per hour | Operations / finance |
| Overtime | Overtime hours worked to cover the role; regular rates | Overtime hours × (1.5 × regular rate) | Payroll |
| Contract labor | Contractor invoices or quotes; normal loaded cost for the same hours | Contractor cost − normal cost | Maintenance / procurement |
| Contract terms | Turnaround clauses, credits, or renewals at risk | Only amounts triggered or clearly at risk | Contracts / account owner |
| Qualified capacity | Who can perform, inspect, and approve the work today | Note the limit; add a cost only if it causes lines 1–4 | Quality / accountable manager |
Add the weekly lines you can support and leave the rest out. Then multiply by a realistic number of weeks to fill the role. Use your own past time-to-fill for similar roles if you track it, rather than an assumed figure.
A labeled example: overtime only
Hypothetical example. The hours below are made up to show the arithmetic. They aren’t TAS data, client data, or a forecast.
Suppose an A&P mechanic position is open, and three technicians each work five extra hours a week to keep up. For a starting rate, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics national median hourly wage for aircraft mechanics and service technicians was $38.40 in its 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates. That is a national median for all experience levels, not a local offer or your actual rate.
- Overtime hours: 3 technicians × 5 hours = 15 hours a week
- Overtime rate: $38.40 × 1.5 = $57.60 an hour
- Overtime pay: 15 × $57.60 = $864 a week
- Premium over straight time: 15 × $19.20 = $288 a week
Over eight weeks, that is $6,912 in overtime pay, of which $2,304 is the premium above straight time. Which figure belongs in your estimate depends on whether those hours would otherwise have been worked at all. That is the kind of judgment the worksheet makes visible. Replace the median with your real rates, and add the other lines only where you have evidence.
Before you approve the search
Use this checklist to turn the estimate into a hiring decision. The boxes are for your own use on this page. They don’t save or send anything.
How to use the estimate
The estimate is a decision tool, not a report. Use it to set priority, for example by funding the search for the role whose open weeks cost the most first. Use it to test the requirements: if a must-have credential is shrinking the candidate pool, the worksheet shows what each extra week of searching costs. And use it to compare options such as internal recruiting, contract coverage, and a specialist recruiter on the same basis.
Delays often start before sourcing does. A clear brief, a realistic start date, and a like-for-like comparison of recruiting proposals all shorten the time a seat stays open. These guides cover each step: the aviation hiring intake checklist, what to ask about recruiting fees, and planning a realistic start date.
Where Total Aviation Staffing fits
Total Aviation Staffing recruits for aviation employers across flight operations, maintenance and repair, manufacturing and OEM, and defense programs. The process starts by defining the hire, which means separating true requirements from flexible ones. Recruiters then search an aviation-focused candidate network and personally verify each candidate’s experience, licenses, and interest before presenting a shortlist. If your worksheet shows a vacancy is costing more each week than you can absorb, bring the estimate and the role brief to that first conversation.
Common questions
Should I use an industry average for the cost of a vacancy?
Only as a prompt for questions. Averages mix different operations and cost structures. Your own deferred work, overtime, contract labor, and contract terms give a number you can defend and refresh.
Is overtime always a cost of the vacancy?
Not always. If the extra hours replace work that would have been done anyway, the meaningful cost may be the premium above straight time, plus fatigue and retention risk. Record both the total pay and the premium, and decide which belongs in your estimate.
Does an open inspector or certificated technician role create a compliance issue?
It can limit capacity. A certificated repair station must keep enough qualified personnel for the work it performs, and U.S. repair stations must use appropriately certificated people to approve articles for return to service. Ask your quality lead and accountable manager to confirm what the vacancy means for your certificate and operations specifications.
How often should I update the estimate?
Weekly while the role is open. Costs often change as backlogs grow, contractors come and go, or other staff leave.
Talk to TAS about an open role
Share the role, your must-haves, and your vacancy-cost estimate, and we’ll help you decide how to search.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 49-3011 Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians (2025 estimates; national median hourly wage $38.40, median annual wage $79,870). Accessed October 27, 2026 via the BLS Public Data API, series OEUN000000000000049301108 and OEUN000000000000049301113. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes493011.htm
- eCFR, 29 CFR 778.107, General standard for overtime pay. Accessed October 27, 2026. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/part-778/section-778.107
- eCFR, 14 CFR 145.151, Personnel requirements. Accessed October 27, 2026. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/part-145/section-145.151
- eCFR, 14 CFR 145.157, Personnel authorized to approve an article for return to service. Accessed October 27, 2026. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/part-145/section-145.157
- Total Aviation Staffing, Hire Aviation Talent (service and process description). Accessed October 27, 2026. https://totalaviationstaffing.com/hire-talent