The world of private jets, explained
How much does it cost to fly private?
Find out in ten seconds — for any two of 180 cities, every class of jet, per seat. Then keep going: who owns which jet, what’s inside, how fast, how far, and whether you could ever afford one. All free.
Editorial estimates from 2026 charter benchmarks. No sign-up, no sales call. Or skip the numbers and fly it, minute by minute →
✦ A Gulfstream G650ER carries about 48,200 pounds of fuel, more than 7,000 US gallons, which is more than the aircraft weighs empty of fuel and passengers.✦ Top business jets are certified to 51,000 feet, roughly 10,000 to 16,000 feet above the airliners cruising below them, which lets them fly above most weather and traffic.✦ Several light jets, including the Cirrus Vision Jet, Phenom 300 and Citation CJ series, are certified for a single pilot, and the Vision Jet can land itself at the push of a button if the pilot is incapacitated.✦ By late 2025 the average jet-card rate was about $8,300 per hour for a light jet and $12,300 for a super-midsize, before a 7.5 percent US excise tax.✦ The Bombardier Global 8000 is certified to cruise at Mach 0.94 and reached Mach 0.95 in testing, making it the fastest civil aircraft since Concorde retired in 2003.✦ The Pilatus PC-24 is certified to operate from grass, gravel and dirt strips and needs under 3,000 feet of runway, opening thousands of airfields that most jets cannot use.✦ 24,200 business jets in the world
Popular routes, priced
Any route →New York → Miami
$17,643 – $25,507 one-way
London → Nice
$13,200 – $18,900 one-way
New York → London
$88,858 – $139K one-way
Los Angeles → Las Vegas
$13,200 – $18,900 one-way
Dubai → London
$87,164 – $136K one-way
Hong Kong → Singapore
$23,709 – $34,528 one-way
Paris → Ibiza
$13,200 – $18,900 one-way
New York → Aspen
$39,224 – $57,116 one-way
~1,070 business jets are probably in the air right now (estimate)
New · Sky ViewLand at St Barts. Ride the Davos airlift. In 3D.
Legendary approach
St Barts: the drop over the hill
Clear a ridge with a roundabout on top, dive for a runway barely 2,100 feet long and stop before the beach — one of the most famous landings in the world.
Every January
Davos week: the great Alpine airlift
Every January the World Economic Forum turns Switzerland into one of the busiest business-aviation hubs on Earth. Follow a jet from New York to Zurich and on into the Alps — and watch everyone else converge.
Fly it in 3D
Your route, on a real globe
Pick two cities and a jet, then ride along from the cockpit, the window seat or a chase plane — on real satellite imagery.
Who flies what
Elon Musk’s G650ER, Drake’s 767, Taylor Swift’s Falcon, the Sultan of Brunei’s 747 — 55 of the world’s most talked-about aircraft, with reported prices and the stories behind them.
Explore famous jets →Play with it
Fly it
A simulated private flight, minute by minute, with the bill running.
Which jet are you?
Eight questions, one aircraft, zero cost.
Build your jet
Spec the cabin, pick the paint, see the real bill.
Could you afford it?
Your income and savings vs the private-jet ladder.
Rumours & legends
The gold 747, the $3,000 biscuits — checked.
Rankings
All rankings →
Most expensive
Boeing Business Jets BBJ 787-8
$250M
Longest range
Boeing Business Jets BBJ 787-8
9,945 nm
Fastest
Bombardier Global 8000
Mach 0.94
Cheapest new jet
Cirrus Aircraft Vision Jet SF50 G2+
$3.5M
8,200 nm
Longest range business jet
Gulfstream G800
Mach 0.94 (Mach 0.95 in testing)
Fastest business jet
Bombardier Global 8000
8,225 nm, Sydney to Detroit (2019)
Longest flight by a purpose-built business jet
Bombardier Global 7500
51,000 ft
Highest certified ceiling
Gulfstream G650ER, Global 7500/8000, Falcon 7X/8X, Citation X
Inside & explained
All stories →Can You Afford to Fly Private? A Reality Check by Net Worth and Income
Charter at $1 million liquid, a jet card at $5 million, a fractional share at $30 million, your own aircraft at $100 million. Here are the rules of thumb the industry actually uses, with the arithmetic behind each one.
Depreciation Curves: How Business Jets Hold Value, With 10-Year Residual Estimates by Category
The shape of a business jet's value curve, what bends it, how the 2021-2024 cycle distorted it, and our residual value estimates for every category at years one, five and ten.
The World's Most Famous Private-Jet Airports, and Why the Rich Land There
Teterboro handled 75,000 private departures last year and bans anything over 100,000 pounds. St Barts has a 2,100-foot runway that no jet can use. A tour of eight airports that explain how private aviation actually moves.
The Rise of Fractional Ownership: NetJets, Flexjet, and Why the Model Is Winning
Fractional flying is up two-thirds since 2019 and the two leaders have ordered more than a thousand aircraft between them. How the model works, why it is taking share from ownership and charter, and where its limits lie.
What Private Jets Do to the Planet, and What's Changing
A Gulfstream burns almost five tonnes of CO2 an hour. Private aviation is a tiny slice of global emissions and a very large slice per passenger. Here are the honest numbers on carbon, sustainable fuel, book-and-claim, and the electric aircraft that will and won't replace jets.
Sustainability in Business Aviation: SAF, Book-and-Claim, Carbon Offsets, eVTOL and What Buyers Should Do Now
Mandates are arriving, supply is scarce, and the tools available to an owner in 2026 are better than the debate suggests. A practical guide to what works, what does not, and what to build into a purchase.
Every aircraft, every number
The database →
81
Aircraft profiled
292
Airports
180 / 16,110
Cities & routes
104 / 40
Glossary terms & FAQs