Private jet cabin classes explained

What is a turboprop good for?

A turboprop is a propeller aircraft with a jet engine turning the propeller, and for a short hop it is often the sensible choice. It typically suits a few people flying an hour or two: Dallas to Houston, Boston to Nantucket, a mountain town from the nearest city. It flies lower and slower than a jet, which on a short leg costs minutes rather than hours, and it can use short runways a jet cannot, so more small airports are within reach.

The cabin is compact. You duck through the door, the seats face each other in pairs, and the luggage goes in a baggage area behind the seats or in the nose. It is a comfortable hour and a fair two; past that, a light jet earns its price. Typical turboprops in this class are the Pilatus PC-12, the Beechcraft King Air 350 and the Beechcraft King Air 250.

What is a light jet good for?

A light jet is one of the most common cabins on the empty leg board: a small, fast cabin with the range for a typical two to three hours, which covers most trips inside a region. Think Los Angeles to Aspen, New York to Nashville, Chicago to Miami. It climbs quickly, cruises well above the weather a turboprop sits in, and lands at the same small airports.

It suits a small group with soft luggage: a couple, a family, a team of four on a day trip. Everyone gets a seat, usually facing another; there is a lavatory at the back and a ceiling you stoop under. It is comfortable for the flight times it is built for and cramped beyond them, which is why the class is priced for hops rather than crossings. Typical light jets in this class are the Embraer Phenom 300, the Cessna Citation CJ3 and the Bombardier Learjet 75.

What does a midsize jet add?

A midsize jet adds cabin more than it adds range: more headroom, a longer aisle, an enclosed lavatory and real luggage space. Typical trips run three to four hours, so it covers New York to Miami, Dallas to Los Angeles or Chicago to Aspen with fuel in hand, and the extra cabin matters more the longer you sit in it.

It suits a group that wants to work, eat or sleep on board, or anyone who has flown a light jet and found it tight. Most people can nearly stand in a midsize cabin; a few types have a flat floor, and most have a dropped aisle you walk along with your head bowed. Typical midsize jets in this class are the Cessna Citation XLS, the Hawker 800XP and the Bombardier Learjet 60.

What does a super midsize jet add?

A super midsize jet is the first class most adults can stand up in, and the first that crosses the country without a stop in ordinary conditions. Typical trips of four to five hours are its home ground: Los Angeles to New York, Miami to Aspen, Seattle to Miami with something in reserve.

It suits a full team or two families, a flight long enough for a meal, and anyone who wants a wide seat and a wider aisle. The cabin is typically a club section up front and more seats behind it, with a galley by the door for the catering to come out of, and the hold takes skis and golf bags without a fight. Typical super midsize jets in this class are the Bombardier Challenger 350, the Cessna Citation X and the Gulfstream G280.

What is a heavy jet for?

A heavy jet is a room with wings: a wide, stand-up cabin usually divided into two or three areas, a galley a flight attendant can work from, and a lavatory you would recognise from home. It flies coast to coast with fuel to spare, reaches Hawaii from the West Coast and Europe from the East Coast, and typical trips run five to seven hours.

It suits a larger group, a long day, or an overnight flight you intend to sleep through. It is also the class where the crew often includes a cabin attendant, and where the galley can serve a hot meal rather than a tray. Typical heavy jets in this class are the Gulfstream G450, the Bombardier Challenger 605 and the Dassault Falcon 900EX.

What is an ultra long range jet for?

An ultra long range jet is a heavy jet with the fuel and the wing for the longest routes: the United States to Europe, the Middle East or Asia without a stop, or the country crossed twice on one tank. Trips of about eight hours and more are what it exists for, and it flies them higher, and usually faster, than anything below it.

The cabin is the largest of the six, typically split into separate rooms with a full galley, seats that make into beds and a rest area for the crew. These aircraft appear on the board too: they reposition across the country between long trips, and a short domestic empty leg on one is the same cabin at a fraction of its charter price. Typical ultra long range jets in this class are the Gulfstream G650, the Bombardier Global 6000 and the Dassault Falcon 7X.

The board also carries a few piston twins below the turboprops and a few VIP airliners above the ultra long range jets. Both are rare enough that this guide leaves them out; the cabin filter on the board lists all eight classes, smallest to largest.

How do the six classes compare?

Three tables, three views of the same six classes: the aircraft you will see named in a listing, what the cabin is like to sit in, and the trip each class is built for with its typical charter rate.

Trip lengths are typical rather than limits: a light jet can fly four hours with two people and a tailwind, and a heavy jet is perfectly happy on a forty-minute hop. The rate column is the aircraft-only hourly rate for a charter, the number a quote multiplies by your hours before it adds crew, positioning, fees and taxes into one total. The charter cost guide walks through that arithmetic route by route. This is important because the class sets the rate but not the total: a one-hour hop on a super midsize jet from Teterboro Airport to Nantucket is priced as much by the airports and the positioning as by the $7,200 an hour.

Which class does your trip need?

Four steps settle it, and the first two do most of the work.

1. Step 1. Start with hours, not miles. A quote is built on block time, and the class that flies your route in one comfortable sitting is the one to price first; a class above it buys comfort, a class below it buys a fuel stop. A two-hour flight in a light jet is a pleasant two hours. A five-hour flight in the same cabin is a long afternoon.
2. Step 2. Count heads and bags. Skis, golf clubs and hard cases fill a light jet's hold quickly, and a group that fits a midsize cabin on paper may want a super midsize for a five-hour flight. It is essential to mention oversized bags before the day, so the operator can say yes or no in advance.
3. Step 3. If the trip is fixed and the numbers are yours, ask for a charter quote and name the class you have in mind. The operator may propose a neighbour that fits better, and the quote comes back as one total for the whole aircraft from an operator the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has certificated under 14 CFR Part 135, named before you pay.
4. Step 4. If the dates can move, an empty leg is whatever cabin happens to be repositioning on your route that week, and the price is for the whole aircraft however many of you fly. Leave the cabin filter wide and sort by price before you narrow it.
5. Step 5. Check the Empty Leg Index before you request. It publishes the median operator-listed price by cabin across every leg on the board, recomputed as of the moment the page loads, so you can tell whether the leg in front of you is typical for its class or a bargain.
6. Step 6. If nothing fits today, set a flight alert for the route and a window of dates. It emails you when a matching leg posts, whatever cabin it turns out to be.

Every listing on the board carries its cabin class, alongside the aircraft type and the seat count when the operator published them, and the filter strip lets you narrow the board to one class or several. Because an empty leg is priced to move rather than by the class rate, a heavy jet leg on a short route can list significantly below what a light jet charter would cost the same day, so it pays to look before you filter. Trip Finder does the same for one trip: give it your route and dates and every leg that fits it or comes close is listed with its aircraft, its seats and its price, so cabin and price can be weighed side by side. The seat count matters less than it seems: the price is for the whole aircraft, and it is essential to remember that a cabin with two empty seats costs exactly what it costs full.

The guide on what empty legs cost reads the Index table class by class. The empty leg or charter guide helps you decide which to ask for, and what an empty leg is explains why the cabin class matters more than the seat count in the listing.