Choosing a private jet size — light, midsize, super-midsize, heavy, and ultra long range

The short answer

Private jets come in five main sizes: light, midsize, super-midsize, heavy, and ultra long range. Pick the smallest size that carries your people and bags in comfort and flies your longest regular trip nonstop. Bigger aircraft cost more per hour, so paying for size you do not use adds up fast.

Range in this guide is in nautical miles. A nautical mile is a little longer than a regular mile, and it is the unit pilots use. All figures are rough. Real range drops with more passengers, more bags, headwinds, hot weather, and short or high-altitude runways.

Light jets

• Seats: about 5 to 7.
• Range: about 1,500 to 2,000 nautical miles.
• Typical trips: one to three hours, such as a city pair in the same region.
• Cabin: you cannot stand up straight. Room for small bags; there is usually a small restroom.
• Good for: short business trips with a few people.

Below light jets are very light jets and turboprops. A turboprop is a plane with propellers driven by a jet engine. Both are good for short hops and small airports.

Midsize jets

• Seats: about 7 to 9.
• Range: about 2,000 to 2,700 nautical miles.
• Typical trips: two to four hours, such as halfway across the country.
• Cabin: most let you stand up, with a proper restroom and more room for bags.
• Good for: the most common business trips. Midsize jets are the workhorse size for many providers.

Super-midsize jets

• Seats: about 8 to 10.
• Range: about 3,000 to 3,500 nautical miles.
• Typical trips: coast to coast nonstop.
• Cabin: a wide cabin you can walk through, with a full galley (a small kitchen) and lots of room for bags.
• Good for: cross-country flying and longer trips where comfort matters.

Flying coast to coast is roughly 2,100 to 2,400 nautical miles. Flying west, into the usual headwinds, takes more range than flying east.

Heavy jets

• Seats: about 10 to 16.
• Range: about 4,000 to 5,000 nautical miles.
• Typical trips: larger groups, and some flights across the ocean, such as the US East Coast to Western Europe.
• Cabin: separate seating areas, often with seats that make into beds.
• Good for: big teams, families, and long days in the air.

Ultra long range jets

• Seats: about 12 to 19.
• Range: about 6,000 to 7,700 nautical miles.
• Typical trips: across oceans nonstop, such as the US to Asia or the Middle East.
• Cabin: the largest, often with a private bedroom and space for crew to rest.
• Good for: global travel where stopping for fuel is not an option.

How to choose

1. Start with your longest regular trip. Pick a size that flies it nonstop with your usual group and bags, in the season you usually fly.
2. Count people and bags. Plan for your normal group, not the most you have ever carried. Golf clubs, skis, and large bags fill small cabins fast.
3. Think about time in the air. Under two hours, a light jet is usually fine. Past three hours, more cabin room is worth more.
4. Check your airports. Short runways, high altitude, and hot days can limit larger aircraft or cut their range.
5. Do not overbuy. If one trip a year needs a big jet, book that trip On-Demand and pick a smaller size for everything else.

Seeing it for your routes

FlightWiseOS can show which aircraft fly your routes nonstop, and estimate each route by aircraft size across the providers that serve it.

See it for your routes

The aircraft models and range tool shows which aircraft fly your routes nonstop, and the Route Estimator estimates each route by aircraft size.