Four or five people, an hour or two in the air and an airfield near the meeting rather than near the motorway. The entry point to jet charter, with the baggage hold to match.
At a glance
Category guidance. Figures are typical for the class rather than promises about a particular aircraft, and every quote names the actual aeroplane.
What it is for
The very light jet exists for one kind of trip: a small number of people, a short sector, and a schedule that the airlines make awkward. Four colleagues to Dublin for the morning and back by dinner. Two people from a house in the Cotswolds to the Alps for a weekend. A family of four to Jersey. In each case the aircraft is doing something simple, and doing it from the airfield nearest the front door rather than the one the airlines chose.
That is the real advantage, and it is a bigger one than speed. These aircraft are happy at small fields such as London Oxford, Biggin Hill and Cambridge, which turns a ninety minute drive across London into a twenty minute one. The aeroplane may only be forty minutes faster than a light jet on the sector, but the day can be two hours shorter at each end.
The class is also where private flying is least expensive, which is why people try it first. That is worth doing honestly. A very light jet is a real jet with two pilots, a lavatory and a proper cabin, and it is also noticeably smaller than every photograph of private aviation you have ever seen. Aircraft are arranged with licensed commercial operators, and we tell you which one is flying before you commit.
Examples
| Aircraft | Typical seats | Typical range | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Embraer Phenom 100 family | 4 to 6 | About 1,200 to 1,400 nm | The most common in European charter, with the best baggage hold in the class |
| Cessna Citation M2 and M2 Gen2 | 4 to 6 | About 1,300 to 1,550 nm | The longest legs of the group in still air, and a familiar Citation cabin |
| HondaJet and HondaJet Elite | 4 to 5 | About 1,200 to 1,400 nm | The fastest of the three and unusual in having a small separate rear luggage compartment |
| Cirrus Vision Jet | 3 to 5 | About 1,200 nm | A single engine jet, offered more for private owners than for charter in Europe |
Published range figures assume still air and a light load. A full cabin and a winter headwind both reduce them, which is why we check the actual trip on the actual date rather than quoting the brochure.
Range on the map
Drawn from Farnborough as true circles on the globe. The solid ring is the top of the class's typical range and the dashed ring is what most of its aircraft can plan on. Change the departure to see the reach from anywhere.
Very light jets from Farnborough Airport (FAB). The solid ring is the top of the class's published range, 1,500 nautical miles; the dashed ring is 85% of the bottom of it, 935 nautical miles, which most aircraft in the class can plan on non-stop. Winds, payload and reserves reduce real range, so every trip is checked on the day.
Comfortable from London
Said honestly
Go a size up
Most European trips that are not a short hop end up here, and it is rarely a large step in cost.
Go sideways
Slower in the air, and often earlier at the door.
The other categories
Trip calculator
Type the two ends of the trip, and the number travelling if you know it. You will see the distance, a realistic time in the air, and which classes and aircraft can fly it without a stop, with this class marked.
Distances are great circle, the shortest line over the earth. Non-stop is judged against 85% of each aircraft's published still-air range, which leaves a sensible margin for reserves, wind and load. Times are a planning range for the time in the air, not a schedule. Aircraft are arranged with licensed commercial operators, and every quote is checked against the actual aircraft, the load and the forecast for your date.
Request a quote
Route, date, how many of you and what you are carrying. Luggage decides this class more than anything else, so be specific about cases and equipment and we will tell you honestly whether a very light jet does the job or whether you want the size up. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
Per hour, usually. For the whole trip, not always, because there are fewer of these aircraft in Europe and the empty flying to reach you can cost more than the size up. We quote both when it is close and let you choose.
That is the question to ask first. Four soft bags, yes. Four large hard cases, usually not. Skis, golf bags and pushchairs are a light jet or turboprop job. Send us the list and we will be straight with you.
There is one on board, usually curtained or partly enclosed rather than a separate compartment. On a one hour sector it is rarely used. On a three hour one it matters, and we would suggest a larger cabin.
Nice, Cannes and the northern Italian airports are comfortable. The Balearics, southern Spain and the Greek islands are at or beyond the limit with a full cabin, and depend on the wind on the day. We check the actual sector rather than the brochure range.
Two on every commercial charter we arrange, regardless of whether the type is certified for single pilot operation.
Yes, and it is the usual arrangement. Our own chauffeurs cover London and Manchester and elsewhere cars are arranged through operators we know. See private jet and FBO transfers.
One contact, wherever you are
