The United States Navy charged the producers of Top Gun 2 $11,000 per hour per F/A-18 Super Hornet used in that movie — a number that can probably stand auditing. So the Blue Angels, with seven F/A-18s traveling with the display team that’s $77,000 per hour, which has to also include practice flying and repositioning from city to city. Their annual budget is $37 million, which certainly doesn’t cover capital costs.
An F-15 is comparable in cost to an F-18, since both have twin engines. An F-16 used by the USAF Thunderbirds is probably 30 percent cheaper to run with only one engine.
The deal for civilian jet operators at air shows varies. Those in the USA who don’t perform often get free fuel, but it depends on the plane (or whether they even ask — rich jet jockeys typically don’t). US air show performers are usually paid PLUS fuel.
In Europe it’s common for display aircraft to be paid just to appear at the show. With a careful eye on costs you can actually make a living in Europe flying your old MiG-17 around the continent every summer. Beats working.