Which private jet is best for my trip?
With over 7000 private jets available to charter worldwide, choosing the right private jet for your trip can often be a difficult decision. Here is an overview of the most popular aircraft types available, making sure you choose the best private jet for your trip.
VLJ (Very Light Jet)
A Very Light Jet (VLJ) also known as an entry-level jet is the smallest private jet category, seating 4-5 passengers. They are cheaper to run than their standard private jet counterparts making them a more cost effective choice for short-haul journeys of up to 2 hours. They can also use smaller runways. However, there is limited cabin space and baggage capacity is often restricted on these types of jets.
VLJ examples: Citation Mustang, Citation M2, Phenom 100
Light jet
The light jet is a very popular private jet within the marketplace. It has a flight range of up to 2.5 hours with seating for up to 8 passengers. It is a very economical choice making it an ideal choice for short to mid-range city hops. This jet category also benefits from being able to land at smaller airports, getting you closer to your destination. Light jets have been a popular option since the launch of the business jet market about 50 years ago.
Light Jet examples: Citation CJ2/CJ3/CJ4, Citation Bravo, Learjet 40, Premier 1
The super light jet category offers even more cabin and luggage space compared to a light jet. They are a popular choice, appreciated for their speed, comfort and performance. With a flight range of up to 4.5 hours, enabling non-stop flights between cities such as Paris and Moscow.
Super light jet examples: Learjet 75, Phenom 300, Citation XLS
Midsize jet
The midsize jet category offers a sleeker, more comfortable stand-up cabin, with greater luggage capacity. There is seating for up to 10 passengers, with some models offering flight attendant services. With a flight range of up to 5 hours, it makes it an ideal choice for longer range travel or for travel with larger passenger capacity requirements. A pressurized cabin makes at-altitude travel comfortable; all models have a lavatory and some models are WI-FI enabled, making in-flight work possible.
Midsize jet examples: Hawker 800XP/900XP, Learjet 60XR
Super midsize jets are luxurious aircraft with upgraded amenities such as galley kitchen, bathroom facilities, in-fight entertainment and beds. These private jets jets are fast and fuel efficient, with the ability to climb high, making this category a good choice for longer flights.
Super midsize jet examples:Challenger 300/350, Citation X, Citation Sovereign, Legacy 500
Large jet
The large jet category is the ultimate in private air travel. With a seating capacity for up to 18 passengers and a flight range of up to 6.5 hours, these private jets are ideal for transcontinental flights. All aircraft in this category have a fully enclosed lavatory and flight attendant services. High ceilings means comfortable movement around the cabin and lie-flat beds makes those longer flights much more comfortable. WI-FI on board most models also means you will never miss that all important work deadline. The Legacy 600/650 offers the largest baggage capacity in its class.
Large jet examples: Legacy 600/650, Challenger 850, Falcon 900EX
Ultra long range jet
The ultra long range jet offers the ultimate in luxury and style. These jets are ideal for intercontinental travel, with a range of up to 12.5 hours. , connecting virtually any two cities in the world. Arrive at your destination feeling refreshed and revitalised after a good nights sleep in a comfortable lie-flat bed or relax and enjoy the state-of-the-art entertainment systems. A well-appointed galley, means all your catering requests can be met and a flight attendant on-board means your every whim will be taken care off. These private jets offer plenty of passenger and baggage capacity with seating for up to 16 passengers.
Ultra long range jet examples: Gulfstream G550, Global XRS, Falcon 7X
So when choosing a private jet for your next trip, ensure you have taken into consideration; the number of passengers travelling, the amount of luggage you will have, how far you are travelling and the amenities that you require on-board. If you ask yourself these 4 questions you should be able to make a more informed decision on which private jet is best for your trip.
Vickie Clark is Client Services Director at The Private Jet Boutique Ltd. The Private Jet Boutique Ltd. is a one-stop shop for private jet charter, helicopter charter, scheduled flights and luxury holidays.
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Vickie Clark
Vickie Clark is Client Services Director & Owner of Private Jet Boutique. Private Jet Boutique takes the stress out of your travel planning and is dedicated to saving you time and money. Private Jet Boutique specialises in worldwide private jet and helicopter hire and is the only jet hire company in the UK to offer a 0% commission, ‘invite only’, private jet membership programme, saving the frequent flyer thousands of pounds! Vickie has over 10 years’ experience in the luxury travel market. Her passion for helping people, knowledge of the private jet market, as well as her transparent approach to private jet charter is what drives the company forward!
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Astounding. I am just amazed that there are over 7,000 private jets available worldwide for hire. I never knew that it was such an big industry. Though I can see that there are different types of plane for different jobs.
Hi Ed, thanks for your comment. The industry is relatively small in comparison to other industries but you would be surprised at how many people actually use private jets worldwide.87,000 private jets departed from airports around Europe during the month of June.
It was interesting during the Wimbledon tennis championship to hear one of the commentators arguing that private jets are one of the reasons why the top players like Federer and Nadal have stayed at the top. I can see why a private jet helps. There is no draining hanging about at airports. Once aboard they can have climate control. (Commercial airliners are always too hot to start with them on intercontinental flights they can sometimes get too cold midflight). Really importantly for professional athletes they can have the meals they want, prepared to their nutritional plan, when they wanted them.
Maybe professional sportsmen make up a lot of use of these top 7.000 private jets but there must be a lot of other professions where it is really useful.
I would guess that singers from Heavy Metal through top Opera just wouldn’t want to be crammed into an ordinary plane where they could catch colds and throat infections. Nor would they want to be breathing recycled air for hours on end. Someone even told me that often on planes the oxygen content is lower than regular air.
Private jets are not just for music and sporting superstars. They are for anyone who has a job to do and who needs to arrive promptly and fresh for their task. It is much easier to work on a private jet than in First Class or Business Class where there is a lot going on that can distract you. I doubt that you have to go through the safety briefing on a private jet or listen to all the announcements selling you duty free.
Thanks for your comments. Private jets are used by many sports stars and musicians, not only for the flexibility that they offer but also the privacy and convenience.You can fly between multiple cities in a short space of time. You can also set your own schedule on a private jet so you are not restricted by the airlines schedule. As Tony says, there are many reasons why people would benefit from using private jets and its not all about champagne and caviar although that is a bonus :)
Reading this was a real shock to me. I had always thought that private jets were for an elite few. I just thought there were a handful of extremely wealthy people who took private jets.
Doing the Maths, with some vague assumptions thrown in. If each of those private flights were to do just 1 flights a day you would get over 2.5 million private jet flights per year.
Hi John, although the market is relatively small, you would be surprised at how many people actually use private jets worldwide. In June, Europe alone saw round 87,000 private jet departures from its top destinations.
The few times I’ve boarded a private jet, I didn’t really get to notice or bothered to know the type of jet it is. I always go for the light jets because they always say that it’s very ideal for all sorts of trips and I’d normally have short 3-hour trips. I also heard that it’s the most popular type of private jet so it’s often recommended for travellers.