How much does a private jet cost?

Private jet cost per hour by aircraft class

Charter is almost always billed by the block hour, counted from taxiing out at departure to parking at the destination. The aircraft class is therefore the biggest lever. Larger jets cost more per hour, but they fly faster, further and with more room. The table shows the ranges our calculators use as well.

A light jet such as the Citation CJ3+ typically carries 5 people (up to 7) on routes of up to around 2,800 km; it usually has no enclosed lavatory. From the midsize jet upwards the cabin is around 1.73 m high, close to standing height, with an enclosed lavatory. Heavy and ultra long range jets fly 7,000 to 12,000 km nonstop and make sense mainly on long-haul routes or for larger groups. Which class suits your route, group and luggage is shown by the aircraft finder.

How much does a private jet cost on typical routes?

Hourly rates mean little until you know the flight time. For five common routes we estimated the cost of a one-way charter per class and placed it next to the prices at which empty legs were actually offered on exactly these routes.

On Nice → Paris the charter estimate for a light jet is €7,900 – €15,100, while the empty leg median is €6,100. Half of all offers were between €5,200 and €7,500. On the long-haul route London → New York (5,530 km) a light jet would need 2 fuel stops; a heavy jet flies nonstop, with an estimate of €85,100 – €165,200.

Work out your own route with the private jet cost calculator; for the flight time alone use the flight time calculator.

What the price is made of

At its core a charter quote has four parts. The weighting differs between operators, but the logic is the same everywhere:

• Flight hours: block time multiplied by the hourly rate of the class. This covers fuel, crew, maintenance and insurance.
• Airport, handling and landing fees per leg: around €700 for a light jet, €2,000 for a heavy jet and €3,000 for an ultra long range jet. Every fuel stop counts as another leg.
• Positioning: after your flight the jet usually returns to its base empty. For a one-way flight we therefore multiply the flight cost by 1.4 to 2.0, a surcharge of 40% to 100%.
• Crew overnights on a return trip: around €1,100 per night. For longer stays the aircraft often flies back to base in between, so we count at most 4 nights.

The ranges do not include VAT, de-icing in winter, special catering requests, or surcharges for peak dates and particularly expensive airports. The operator lists these in the binding quote.

One way or return?

Because the empty positioning flight is paid for on a one-way trip, a return trip costs far less than two separate one-way flights. Example Nice → Paris in a light jet: one way €7,900 – €15,100, return with one crew overnight €12,700 – €16,900.

If the outbound and return flights are several days apart, it is worth getting two quotes: one with the crew waiting and one with two separate flights. Sometimes the operator already has a follow-on job nearby, which lowers the one-way price.

How much does a private jet cost per person?

You pay for the whole aircraft. The more seats you fill, the lower the price per head. With 5 people in a light jet, Nice → Paris one way comes to about €1,600 – €3,000 per person. Whether that beats business class depends heavily on route and group size. The cost calculator shows from how many passengers the private jet is cheaper on your route; the travel time comparison shows the time you save on the ground.

Empty legs: what a positioning flight really costs

Empty legs are exactly the positioning flights that one-way charters create. The jet is flying anyway, so the operator sells the flight for less. There is no list price; each operator sets its own. The table shows what empty legs have actually cost in our data:

The price is for the whole aircraft. In return, route and date are fixed and can change at short notice, for example if the main charter moves. If you are flexible, this often lets you fly for a fraction of the charter price. More in our guide How much does an empty leg cost? and in the list of all available empty legs.

Charter or buy your own jet?

According to the figures behind our depreciation calculator, a new light jet costs around €10,000,000. On top come about €650,000 a year in fixed costs for crew, hangar, insurance, training and management, plus around €1,500 per flight hour for fuel, maintenance reserves and fees.

At 200 flight hours a year that is around €4,750 per hour, before depreciation. Add the first-year loss in value (about €1,200,000) and it rises to around €10,750 per hour. For comparison, a light jet charter costs €3,200 – €4,500 per hour. How the value develops over the years is shown in the depreciation calculator.

What PrivJet adds

PrivJet arranges the flight; it is operated by a commercial air operator holding an air operator certificate (AOC). A service fee of 20% is added on top of the operator's flight price. With a flight price of €10,000 that is €2,000 in service fee, €12,000 in total. The operator receives the full flight price.

You only pay once the operator has confirmed your flight: first the service fee to PrivJet, by card or bank transfer, then the flight price directly to the operator. The step-by-step process is described in the booking guide. Everything about chartering a jet is on our page private jet charter.