Aircraft
Light jets
In short
What is a light jet and when does it make sense?
A light jet carries six to eight passengers about 1,800 nautical miles at 420 knots, for $3,200 to $4,800 per flight hour. It is the workhorse of European and regional charter and the right answer for the majority of trips under three hours. London to Nice, Paris to Milan, Dubai to Riyadh: all comfortable non-stops in this class, and paying for a larger cabin on those legs buys very little.
- 6–8
- passengers
- 1,800 nm
- typical range
- 420 kt
- long-range cruise
- From $3,200
- per flight hour, indicative
Indicative starting price
From $11,000
Private jet charter in this class, on Dubai to Riyadh, the least expensive route we price for it. Not a package price: each trip is quoted on availability, positioning and date.
01Strengths
What it is good at
Balance. A light jet reaches most of the airports worth reaching, carries a real group with real luggage, and costs less than half what a heavy jet costs per hour. Baggage runs to about 74 cubic feet, which handles a family's suitcases or a couple of golf bags, and cabin length around 17 feet means seats face each other around a table rather than in a line. On the routes it serves it is genuinely hard to justify anything larger.
02Limits
Where it stops working
Standing up. Cabin height is 4.9 feet, so everyone is seated for the duration, which matters more at three hours than at one. Range is the other limit: 1,530 nautical miles of usable range covers Europe and the Gulf comfortably but not the Atlantic, not Europe to the Gulf, and not Dubai to the Maldives. Skis are the specific item that catches people out — six sets will not fit whatever the seat count suggests.
03Inside
The cabin
You are seated for the duration in this class. That is comfortable on a short sector and wearing on a long one, and it is the line that separates this class from the ones above it. The cross-section below is drawn to scale against a person of average height.
Light jets
4.9 ft high · 5.1 ft wide
Seated headroom
| Passengers | 6–8 |
|---|---|
| Typical range | 1,800 nm (2,100 nm maximum) |
| Long-range cruise | 420 knots |
| Cabin height | 4.9 ft |
| Cabin width | 5.1 ft |
| Cabin length | 17.2 ft |
| Baggage | 74 cu ft |
| Minimum runway | 3,500 ft |
| Indicative rate | From $3,200 per flight hour |
| Minimum charge | 2 block hours |
04In service
Routes this class flies
Every route we price that this class can operate, with its own price on each. Where a class is absent from a route, it is because the leg is beyond its usable range or the runway at one end is too short — not because we would rather sell you something else.
- London → Nice
580 nm · 2 h
From $11,500
- London → Geneva
423 nm · 1 h 35 min
From $11,500
- Paris → Nice
375 nm · 1 h 25 min
From $11,500
- London → Ibiza
784 nm · 2 h 30 min
From $12,500
- Dubai → Riyadh
461 nm · 1 h 40 min
From $11,000
- London → Milan
543 nm · 1 h 50 min
From $11,500
05Against the rest
How it compares
Against a midsize jet, you save around a third per hour and give up standing headroom, about 600 nautical miles and a quarter of the baggage volume. On a two-hour leg with four passengers, take the light jet. On a four-hour leg with eight, do not.
06Before you pay
What you are told before any invoice
A class is a starting point, not an aircraft. What you actually receive is a named operator and a specific tail number, and here is what comes with them.
What we commit to
Nothing is charged before the aircraft is confirmed.
You receive the operating carrier’s legal name, its AOC number and the aircraft registration in writing before any invoice or wallet address is issued. If those three things are not in front of you, you have not been asked to pay yet.
One commission, inside the price you were quoted.
Our margin is already in the number you agreed to. There is no second invoice, no booking fee added at the end, and no separate charge for arranging the flight. If the total moves after you have accepted it, the reason is a change you asked for.
If the operator cancels, you choose the remedy — not us.
Aircraft go technical and operators occasionally fail. When that happens before departure you are offered a replacement aircraft on equivalent terms or a full refund, and the choice between them is yours. We do not get to decide that a substitute was good enough.
These form part of our terms of business. If any of them changes, the change is dated there rather than made quietly here.
07Get a price
Tell us the trip
You do not have to pick the class. Send the route, the date and the passenger count and we will tell you which aircraft actually suits it — including when something cheaper than this one would do.
Questions
- How much does it cost to charter a private jet?
- There is no fixed price. As indicative starting points, light jets from about $3,200 per flight hour, super-midsize jets from about $6,000 per flight hour, heavy jets from about $8,000 per flight hour and ultra-long-range aircraft from about $11,500 per flight hour, plus positioning and ground handling at both ends. Each route page shows an indicative starting price for that trip. Those figures are starting prices, not quotes: the price of your flight is calculated individually and depends on aircraft availability, where the aircraft is positioned, the date, the operating company and airport charges.
- How much luggage can I take?
- Baggage is limited by volume, not by piece count — around 50 cubic feet on a light jet and 115 on a heavy jet. Skis, golf bags and oversized cases are fine but must be declared when you request the quote, because they can change which aircraft works. Weight matters on long legs: a full cabin plus heavy baggage can shorten range enough to add a fuel stop.
- Can I fly with my pet?
- Usually, and in the cabin with you — but it depends on the aircraft and the operator. Many charter operators accept dogs and cats in the cabin without a crate; some limit size, species or number, and a few do not carry animals at all. The destination country’s import rules apply regardless of aircraft: the UK, for example, requires an approved route and documentation. Tell us the species, size and destination when you send the request, and we only offer operators who accept them.
- What is an empty leg flight?
- An empty leg is a repositioning flight an aircraft has to make anyway — flying empty to collect its next passengers, or home after a drop-off. Operators sell those seats at 25% to 75% below a normal charter. The trade-off is rigidity: the route, date and often the departure window are fixed by someone else’s trip, and the flight can be cancelled if the original charter changes.