Private jet charter routes

Private jet routes we cover, and why these

These private jet routes are the corridors where private flying is concentrated: 104 city pairs across North America, Europe, the Middle East, the Atlantic, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Each one has its own page with the airports private aircraft use at both ends, the aircraft that can fly it nonstop, estimated flight times and estimate ranges. The directory above lists them by region; this guide explains how the list was built, how to read the numbers on each route page, and what changes as a corridor gets longer.

We chose to publish a curated list rather than a page for every possible pair of cities. A page for a route almost nobody flies privately would be thin, and it would hide the corridors that matter behind thousands that do not. The list started from the corridors our business focuses on, and a further set was added from our route research. Its order is not a ranking: a corridor near the top is not "busier" than one near the bottom.

A corridor is a city pair, not an airport pair. London to Geneva, for example, covers every sensible combination of London's business aviation airports and Geneva. Each corridor works in both directions, and one page carries the full analysis. If your city pair is not listed, that does not mean we cannot arrange it. We simply publish detailed data where it is most useful. To ask about any trip, start from the JetPriceCheck home page.

How to read a route page

Every route page is built from the same data, so once you know how to read one, you can compare any two corridors in seconds.

Distance in nautical miles

The distance shown is the great-circle distance between the two cities' main business aviation airports, the shortest path over the surface of the Earth. Great-circle distance is why a flight from Europe to the west coast of the United States passes over Greenland rather than following a straight line on a flat map. Aviation measures it in nautical miles (nm); one nautical mile is exactly 1,852 metres, a little longer than a statute mile.

Smallest nonstop category

This is the single most useful figure on a route page. It tells you the smallest aircraft category that can fly the corridor without a fuel stop in our screening. Two rules drive it:

• Practical range, not brochure range. Manufacturers publish range under ideal conditions. Headwinds, reserves, passenger loads and routings eat into that, so our screening only counts 85% of an aircraft's published range as usable.
• Runway length. Each category needs a minimum runway at both ends. We screen light jets against 3,500 feet, super midsize jets against 5,000 feet and ultra long range jets against 6,000 feet, for example. An airport with a short runway can rule out a category even when range is not a problem.

The result is a starting point for a conversation, not a promise that a particular aircraft will fly a particular day nonstop. Winter headwinds, a full cabin or a hot, high airport can all turn a marginal nonstop into a fuel stop. The operator confirms that when it quotes.

Flight time

Flight times are estimates. We take the great-circle distance, add 5% for real-world routings, divide by each category's typical cruise speed and add 30 minutes per leg for taxi, climb and descent. That overhead matters most on short routes: on a 150 nm hop, it can be a third of the total. On an ocean crossing it is a rounding error, and the winds matter far more.

Estimate ranges

Estimates come from a demonstration pricing model and are labelled as such. They use a range of hourly rates per category, a minimum billable time and a positioning factor that makes a one-way trip cost well over half a return. Our private jet cost guide explains each component and what a real quote adds.

Three kinds of corridor

Sorting the 104 corridors by distance shows three very different kinds of trip, and the right aircraft changes with each.

Corridor type	Typical distance	Smallest nonstop in our screening	Examples
Shuttle	Under about 400 nm	Light jet	Boston–New York, London–Paris, Dubai–Doha
Regional	About 400 to 2,200 nm	Light or midsize jet	New York–Miami, London–Ibiza, Dubai–Istanbul
Long haul	Above about 2,500 nm	Super midsize to ultra long range	London–New York, Geneva–Dubai, New York–Dubai

Shuttles are about ground time. The flight itself might be 40 minutes, so the value lies in using a quiet airport close to where you are, arriving shortly before departure and landing close to your meeting. A light jet or even a turboprop is usually the right size, and paying for a bigger cabin buys comfort, not speed.

Regional corridors are where the choice gets interesting. A light jet can fly many of them, but a two-to-four-hour flight in a cabin you cannot stand up in is a different experience from the same trip in a midsize or super midsize jet with a flat floor. Baggage matters too: ski bags, golf clubs and summer luggage fill a small hold quickly.

Long-haul corridors are governed by range. Our screening shows a super midsize jet as the smallest category that can cross from London to New York nonstop, but only just, and westbound winter headwinds are exactly the conditions that make a marginal crossing need a stop. Heavy and ultra long range jets bring the margin that lets you plan with confidence, and cabins you can sleep in.

Private jet routes by region

North America: 35 corridors

North America has the largest share of our list and the widest mix. The Northeast is dominated by short shuttles out of New York: Washington, D.C.–New York at 193 nm, New York–Philadelphia at just 80 nm, and seasonal hops such as New York–Nantucket. California has its own cluster centred on Los Angeles, with Los Angeles–Las Vegas, Los Angeles–San Francisco and San Jose–Los Angeles. Texas adds Austin–Dallas and Dallas–Houston.

The longer North American corridors are dominated by leisure and coast-to-coast business. New York–Los Angeles is 2,129 nm, and our screening puts a midsize jet as the smallest category to fly it nonstop. Mountain routes such as Denver–Aspen and New York–Aspen are short or medium in distance but demanding in practice, because Aspen's high-elevation airport limits which aircraft can operate and when. Florida links north to New York and out to the Bahamas through Miami–Nassau.

Europe: 29 corridors

Europe's corridors are mostly short: every one of our 29 European routes can be flown nonstop by a light jet in our screening. The busiest themes are the business triangle of London, Paris, Geneva, Zurich and Milan, and the leisure flows south to the Riviera and the Balearics. Paris–Nice, London–Geneva, Zurich–London and Munich–Milan are typical weekday corridors, while Geneva–Olbia, Nice–Ibiza and Barcelona–Ibiza peak in summer.

Borders are simpler than they look. Most of these corridors are within the Schengen Area, where there are normally no passport checks between member states. Routes to or from London cross an external border, and the EU's Entry/Exit System now registers many non-EU travellers entering the Schengen Area. Switzerland is in Schengen but outside the EU customs union, so goods still clear customs. Your operator and the private terminal handle the formalities, but passengers need the right documents.

Transatlantic: 11 corridors

The transatlantic corridors join London, Paris, Geneva, Madrid and Nice to New York, Boston, Washington, Miami, Los Angeles and Aspen. Distances run from 2,828 nm for London–Boston to 4,718 nm for London–Los Angeles, which, like Geneva–Aspen, needs an ultra long range jet in our screening. London–Miami, Geneva–New York, London–Aspen and Nice–New York need at least a heavy jet.

Arrivals in the United States clear U.S. Customs and Border Protection at an airport designated for international general aviation, and CBP publishes its general aviation processing rules. This is one reason the choice of US arrival airport matters as much as the aircraft.

Middle East and the Gulf: 20 corridors

Dubai sits at the centre of this group. Short Gulf hops such as Dubai–Riyadh, Riyadh–Doha and Riyadh–Jeddah are light-jet distances, while the links to Europe, including London–Dubai, Dubai–Paris and Zurich–Dubai, fall between 2,300 and 3,100 nm and need at least a super midsize jet. Dubai–Malé and Dubai–Mumbai reach south and east. New York–Dubai, at 5,951 nm, is the longest corridor in our entire set and a job for an ultra long range jet.

Asia-Pacific: 5 corridors

The Asia-Pacific list is short and deliberately so. It covers Singapore–Hong Kong, Singapore–Bali, Tokyo–Singapore, Hong Kong–Sydney and Melbourne–Sydney. Distances in this region are large, and several of these corridors cross national borders with their own permit and customs requirements, so we plan them case by case.

Latin America: 4 corridors

Our Latin American corridors link the United States with Mexico and Brazil: Miami–Cancún, New York–Cancún, Miami–Cabo San Lucas and New York–São Paulo. The last is 4,162 nm and needs at least a heavy jet in our screening. Mexican destinations are popular in the northern winter; foreign-registered charter flights into Mexico are subject to permit rules that the operator handles.

Starting from a city instead

If you know where you are leaving from but not where you are going, the city pages gather every corridor we quote from one place, along with its airports. New York has the most corridors in our set, ahead of London, Dubai and Los Angeles; Paris, Miami and Geneva follow. For events, we keep separate pages for the Monaco Grand Prix, the Miami Grand Prix and Art Basel Miami Beach, because event weeks change airport choice, parking and price.

Direction, positioning and empty legs

A corridor looks the same in both directions on a map, but it rarely costs the same. Aircraft are based in particular places, and demand flows in waves: south to the sun on a Friday, back north on a Sunday; out to the islands at the start of the summer and home at the end. When you fly against the flow, the operator may need to position an aircraft to you, and that cost appears in the quote.

The same flows create empty legs, the positioning sectors operators sell when an aircraft has to fly without passengers. They are more common on corridors with strong one-way demand, and our empty leg flights page shows live listings once they are verified. If you can travel on someone else's timetable, they are worth watching.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my route not in the directory?

We publish detailed pages only for the corridors where private flying is concentrated. We can still arrange a charter between almost any two suitable airports; ask us for a quote.

Does "smallest nonstop" mean that aircraft always flies it without stopping?

No. It is a screening result that uses a conservative share of published range and minimum runway lengths. Winds, weather, passenger load and airport conditions on the day decide the final plan, which the operator confirms.

Why do nearby cities not have their own routes?

Some pairs are too close to justify a flight, or they share the same metro area and airports. We also merge routes that would simply duplicate each other.

How accurate are the flight times?

They are estimates for planning, based on distance, a routing margin, typical cruise speeds and a fixed allowance per leg. Real times vary with winds and air traffic.

Which aircraft should I choose for a long route?

Start with the smallest nonstop category shown on the route page, then step up if you want more margin, a larger cabin or a bed. Our aircraft guide compares the categories.