Aircraft
Very light jets
In short
What is a very light jet and what does it cost?
A very light jet carries four to six passengers around 1,150 nautical miles at 380 knots, for $2,600 to $3,800 per flight hour. It is the smallest jet worth chartering and the cheapest way to travel by jet at all. The cabin is genuinely small — 4.8 feet high, no cabin attendant, and on some types no separate lavatory — which makes it excellent for one to three people on a short sector and unpleasant for six on a long one.
- 4–6
- passengers
- 1,150 nm
- typical range
- 380 kt
- long-range cruise
- From $2,600
- per flight hour, indicative
Indicative starting price
From $9,000
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
Cost and airfield access. A very light jet reaches around 3,200 feet of runway, which covers most business-aviation airports, and it costs roughly what a good turboprop costs while flying a hundred knots faster and considerably higher. For a pair of passengers doing a two-hour European or intra-Gulf leg it is the most efficient aircraft in the fleet, and on a route where the alternative is an airline connection with a three-hour layover, it is transformative.
02Limits
Where it stops working
Range and cabin. Usable range after passengers, baggage and reserves is closer to 980 nautical miles than the book figure, which rules out most of Europe's longer diagonals and every intercontinental sector. Baggage is around 50 cubic feet and often not accessible in flight. With four adults aboard and full luggage, some types cannot carry full fuel — which turns a non-stop into a fuel stop, and a fuel stop erases the reason you chartered.
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.
Very light jets
4.8 ft high · 4.9 ft wide
Seated headroom
| Passengers | 4–6 |
|---|---|
| Typical range | 1,150 nm (1,400 nm maximum) |
| Long-range cruise | 380 knots |
| Cabin height | 4.8 ft |
| Cabin width | 4.9 ft |
| Cabin length | 11 ft |
| Baggage | 50 cu ft |
| Minimum runway | 3,200 ft |
| Indicative rate | From $2,600 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 5 min
From $10,500
- London → Geneva
423 nm · 1 h 40 min
From $9,500
- Paris → Nice
375 nm · 1 h 35 min
From $9,000
- London → Ibiza
784 nm · 2 h 40 min
From $11,500
- Dubai → Riyadh
461 nm · 1 h 45 min
From $9,000
- London → Milan
543 nm · 2 h
From $10,000
05Against the rest
How it compares
Against a light jet, you save roughly a fifth on the hourly rate and give up around 650 nautical miles of range, a foot of cabin length and the baggage volume that makes a ski trip possible. For two people going somewhere close, that trade is usually worth taking.
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 early do I need to arrive at the airport?
- Fifteen minutes before departure at a private terminal, and often less. There is no check-in desk and no security queue. On international departures passport control happens at the FBO, usually in under five minutes. At many airports your car can drive to the aircraft steps.
- 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.