Aircraft
Turboprops
In short
What is a turboprop and when is it the right aircraft?
A turboprop is a propeller aircraft driven by a jet engine, carrying six to nine passengers with about 1,400 nautical miles of usable range at around 280 knots. It costs $2,000 to $3,200 per flight hour, the least of any class here, and it can use short and unpaved runways that no jet can touch. On legs under 400 nautical miles it is frequently both cheaper and faster door to door than a light jet.
- 6–9
- passengers
- 1,400 nm
- typical range
- 280 kt
- long-range cruise
- From $2,000
- per flight hour, indicative
Indicative starting price
From $8,500
Private jet charter in this class, on Paris to Nice, 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
Airfields. A King Air needs around 3,000 feet of runway and will operate from grass and gravel, which opens several thousand airstrips that jets cannot use — private estates, island fields, mountain strips serving ski resorts. On a short sector the slower cruise costs you very little: the jet spends much of a 200-mile leg climbing and descending anyway, so the time difference is often under fifteen minutes while the cost difference is substantial. Turboprops are also unpressurised or lightly pressurised on some types, which means they fly lower, which in turn means a smoother ride in some conditions and a bumpier one in others.
02Limits
Where it stops working
Anything long. Above roughly 500 nautical miles the speed penalty compounds and a light jet wins outright on time for a modest premium. Cabin height is 4.8 feet, so nobody stands, and cabin noise is materially higher than in a jet — on a two-hour flight that is tiring in a way the specification does not convey. Weather capability is lower too: a turboprop cruising at 25,000 feet flies through weather that a jet at 41,000 feet is comfortably above.
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.
Turboprops
4.8 ft high · 4.5 ft wide
Seated headroom
| Passengers | 6–9 |
|---|---|
| Typical range | 1,400 nm (1,800 nm maximum) |
| Long-range cruise | 280 knots |
| Cabin height | 4.8 ft |
| Cabin width | 4.5 ft |
| Cabin length | 16.7 ft |
| Baggage | 55 cu ft |
| Minimum runway | 3,000 ft |
| Indicative rate | From $2,000 per flight hour |
| Minimum charge | 1.5 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 40 min
From $10,000
- London → Geneva
423 nm · 2 h 5 min
From $9,000
- Paris → Nice
375 nm · 1 h 55 min
From $8,500
- London → Ibiza
784 nm · 3 h 30 min
From $11,500
- Dubai → Riyadh
461 nm · 2 h 15 min
From $9,000
- London → Milan
543 nm · 2 h 35 min
From $10,000
05Against the rest
How it compares
Against a very light jet, the turboprop is cheaper, uses shorter runways and carries more people, while the jet is quieter, faster and flies above more weather. On a 200-mile hop pick the turboprop; beyond 500 miles pick the jet.
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.
- How far in advance do I need to book?
- Four to six hours is usually enough for a domestic or intra-European leg if an aircraft is already positioned nearby. Intercontinental flights need longer for crew duty time, overflight and landing permits. The genuine constraints are seasonal: Nice and Ibiza in July, Geneva in ski season, and Riyadh at any time because of permit lead times.
- How do you check that an operator is safe?
- Every flight is operated by a company holding a valid air operator certificate in its own jurisdiction. We check that certificate and the operator’s insurance cover before offering the aircraft, and any third-party safety audit it holds — ARGUS, Wyvern or IS-BAO. Not every good operator holds one, so we never imply one that has not been verified for that operator. You receive the operator name, and any audit status, before you pay so you can verify it yourself.