Private jet: How much does it cost to book charter flights?
Many people think that private planes are only for the super-rich, the big Hollywood stars and professional athletes, corporate heads or heads of state. But is that really true? After all, every month over 70,000 private jets fly passengers all over Europe. This figure shows that there must be many more passengers on the move than just the powerful, rich and beautiful. There are a number of good reasons for this: first and foremost flexibility, time savings and, for many, the surprisingly interesting costs of a private jet.
More flexibility with charter flights in private jets
Scheduled flights operate strictly according to schedule. The airlines’ schedules are adapted to the usual flight demand on the one hand and to the flight volume at the departure or destination airport on the other. If you book a scheduled flight, you will inevitably have to adjust your travel plans accordingly. However, the flight schedules are not set in stone. Even minor incidents at the airport or in the air can quickly disrupt take-offs and landings. This leads to delays and waiting times. On many days, you must also expect such waiting times, especially when checking in, and arrive at the airport well before the actual departure time. On short flights within Europe, you can quickly spend more time at the departure or destination airport and on airport transfers than in the air.
Compare this to a flight in a private jet :
- Here, you alone determine the departure times when booking your private aircraft and at most you have to observe a ban on night flights.
- You have a much larger choice of departure or destination airports because private jets can also use small or regional airports. Scheduled flights cannot reach these airports because the aircraft is too big or the demand for the route is too small.
- This gives you completely new possibilities when planning your trip .
- At most airports, private jet passengers are processed in separate terminals , the General Aviation Terminals (GAT).
- These are reserved exclusively for passengers of private aircraft.
- The check-in process here is accordingly relaxed and quick .
In addition to flexibility, you gain another valuable advantage by booking a charter flight :
Much time saved in a private jet
The exclusive handling of charter flights alone saves you an hour or two of waiting time on every flight. For many destinations, this time saving is multiplied even further. Europe’s metropolises and many larger cities are connected by scheduled flights, but there are often no direct flights . You then have to fly to cities that are actually only an hour or two away from each other by taking a detour. This only extends the actual flight time minimally, but you lose a lot of time by changing planes and having to wait for extra time. In the evening, you may not be able to get any further at an airport and may even have to factor in an overnight stay before you can continue on to your destination airport.
In private jets, on the other hand, you always fly directly from A to B. Charter flights or private planes are only limited by their range. But even mid-range light or super light jets have a range of around four hours. With private jets like the popular Cessna CJ2, you can then fly comfortably across the whole of Central Europe. In many cases, this saves you not just a few hours of time, but a whole day.
In the end, the cost of a private jet is viewed very differently. For most private jet passengers, time is a very scarce commodity, or they immediately agree with the statement: time is money. Charter flights help you to get more of it. This puts charter flight costs like those in the following examples into perspective.
How much do charter flights cost? The costs of different private jets
Unlike scheduled flights, there are generally no flat rates for private jets. Our customer service representatives will work out the cost for you based on your flight requirements. Nevertheless, you can give a flat rate for a private plane:
- In a propeller plane, an hourly flight in a private jet costs from 1500 euros upwards .
- The first jet aircraft as private jets cost from 2500 euros per flight hour .
Depending on the range you need or the number of passengers, you can then choose a suitable private jet like this one:
| aircraft category | Example | range in ≤flight hours | passengers | approximate cost per flight hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| piston | Diamond DA42 | ≤ 4 hours | ≤ two | 1500 euros |
| turboprop | King Air 200 | ≤ 4.5 hours | ≤ nine | 2000 euros |
| Light Jet | Cessna Citation CJ2 | ≤ 3.5 hours | ≤ six | 3500 euros |
| Super Light Jet | Cessna Citation XLS | ≤ 4 hours | ≤ twelve | 4000 euros |
| Super Midsize Jet | Cessna Citation Sovereign | ≤ six | ≤ twelve | 5000 euros |
| Ultra Long Range | Bombardier Global 6000 | ≤ 10.5 hours | ≤ 13 | 7,000 euros |
The prices per flight hour apply regardless of the number of passengers on board the private jet. This makes charter flights for smaller groups even more interesting when you compare the price of the private plane with the total ticket price for the scheduled flight. In addition, these services are usually already included in the cost of the private plane:
- Positioning of the private jet at the desired departure airport
- fuel costs
- maintenance effort
- Crew with pilot(s) and service personnel in the cabin
- Catering – if the type of private jet allows it
- Handling, landing and take-off fees for the charter flight
If you use smaller airports with your private jet, the final fees are usually lower than at the larger airports. This reduces the cost of the entire flight in the private plane. Of course, you can also request additional services for your flight in the private jet : helicopter, limousine or shuttle service on site, special catering according to your wishes, interpreting services and much more. However, these comfortable extras increase the flight hourly prices or the total cost of a charter flight.
Likewise, there are always ways to save money when flying in a private jet :
Empty leg flights: fly a private jet cost-effectively
If you book a charter flight for yourself and other passengers, there may be a suitable private jet waiting at your destination anyway. For economic reasons, however, the private jets are usually on the way beforehand and are only positioned there specifically for your charter flight. Likewise, the planes often do not wait at your destination for your return flight, but take over other charter flights in the meantime. This leads to numerous empty legs.
You can board these empty leg flights at any time if the departure times fit in with your travel plans. Our customer service representatives will inform you around the clock about available empty leg flights and empty leg flight offers throughout Germany and Europe . With such empty leg flights, the costs for a private jet can quickly drop by up to 70 percent and charter flights become particularly cost-effective .
