Charter guides
How much does it cost to charter a private jet?
Charter is priced by the hour the aircraft flies, and the size of aircraft your trip needs sets the rate. The hourly figure is where the price starts, not where it ends. These are the typical ranges by size, and how they add up to a trip.
The short answer
What does a private jet cost per hour?
In the US in 2026, a light jet charters for about $3,500 to $5,500 per flight hour, and a heavy jet for about $8,000 to $12,000. That rate pays for the aircraft, the crew and usually the fuel. Tax, airport fees and the hours spent flying the aircraft to you come on top. On a one-way trip, the empty flight home can double the hours you pay for.
| Size | Typical aircraft | Seats | Base rate per hour | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turboprop | Pilatus PC-12, King Air 350 | 6 to 9 | $2,000 to $3,500 | Short regional hops, such as Los Angeles to Las Vegas |
| Very light jet | Phenom 100, Citation M2 | 3 to 4 | $2,900 to $3,400 | Two or three people going Dallas to Houston |
| Light jet | Phenom 300, Citation CJ3 | 6 to 8 | $3,500 to $5,500 | New York to Chicago, or New York to South Florida |
| Midsize jet | Citation XLS, Hawker 800XP | 7 to 9 | $4,500 to $7,500 | A full cabin to South Florida, or Chicago to Denver |
| Super-midsize jet | Challenger 350, Gulfstream G280 | 8 to 10 | $5,500 to $8,500 | New York to Aspen, or coast to coast nonstop |
| Heavy jet | Challenger 605, Gulfstream G450 | 10 to 16 | $8,000 to $12,000 | Coast to coast with a full cabin, or New York to London |
| Ultra-long-range jet | Gulfstream G650, Global 7500 | 12 to 14 | $12,000 to $17,000 | Long nonstops, such as Los Angeles to Tokyo |
THESE ARE BASE RATES
What lands on the invoice per hour is higher. Jet card programs fold the 7.5% tax and fuel into one hourly price, and in the third quarter of 2026 they averaged about $8,300 an hour for a light jet, $9,600 for a midsize, $12,500 for a super-midsize, $14,800 for a large cabin and $19,400 for an ultra-long-range jet. Use the table to find the size you need, and expect the all-in figure to sit well above it.
Real routes
What does a real trip cost?
Brokers publish one-way estimates for the routes people price most. These are theirs, from August to October 2026. They spread wide because some include the empty flight home and some do not.
| Route | Aircraft | One way |
|---|---|---|
| New York to South Florida | Light jet | About $11,000 to $20,000 |
| New York to South Florida | Midsize jet | About $12,500 to $27,000 |
| Los Angeles to Las Vegas | Light jet | About $6,000 to $14,000 |
| New York to Aspen | Super-midsize jet | About $40,000 to $45,000 |
Worked example
How does a one-way to Florida add up?
Take a midsize jet at $5,000 an hour, based in New York, flying six people to Miami and going home empty. This is an illustration, not a quote.
- New York to Miami, 2 hours 20 minutes, with you aboard
- $11,667
- Miami back to New York, 2 hours 20 minutes, empty
- $11,667
- Federal excise tax, 7.5% of $23,334
- $1,750
- Segment fee, 6 passengers at $5.30
- $31.80
- Total, before airport fees and extras
- $25,116
Half of the flying is the trip home with nobody aboard. The tax applies to those empty hours too. If the operator has another paying trip out of Miami, that half shrinks or goes away, which is why the same route can be quoted thousands apart on different days.
Why does one way cost nearly as much as a round trip?
Because you usually pay for the flight home. A charter aircraft lives at a base, and when it drops you somewhere else it has to fly back. Unless the operator sells that return to someone else, the empty hours go on your bill. Those unsold returns are the empty legs that get advertised at a discount.
Is a round trip cheaper than two one-ways?
It depends on how long you stay. If the aircraft waits for you, there are no empty flights to pay for. You pay instead for each day it sits, because most operators bill a daily minimum of about two flight hours, plus the crew's hotel and meals. Over a long weekend that can cost more than sending the aircraft home and bringing it back. Ask for both prices.
Why does the same trip cost more on some days?
Charter is priced against demand. Holiday weekends and big events fill the fleet, and the aircraft still free are further away or priced higher. Nobody publishes a standard surcharge for those days, so the only way to know is to ask early and compare.
Does the airport you pick change the price?
It can. Landing and handling fees at a busy city airport can be several times what a quieter field nearby charges, and an airport closer to where the aircraft is based means fewer empty hours. Where a city has more than one airport that takes business jets, ask for a price from each. We arrange handling at airports every day, so this is the part of the quote we read most closely.
READ THIS AS A STARTING POINT
Every price here is a published market figure, gathered in October 2026. The price of your trip depends on which aircraft are free on your dates and where they are parked. That is the part we check.
What else is on the quote?
The tax, the segment fee, positioning, airport fees and crew costs, line by line, with the government rates for 2026.
What's in a charter quote →Can you fly the same route for less?
Sometimes, on an empty leg. The price drops a long way and you give up the choice of time and the certainty of the flight.
How empty legs work →Want the number for your trip?
Send the route, the date and how many are flying, and we come back with aircraft that fit and what each one costs.
Get a charter quote →Sources
Gathered in October 2026. Market prices and fee estimates are other people's published figures, not our quotes. Federal tax and fee rates are the government's own.
- Paramount Business Jets, Private Jet Rental CostUpdated August 2026Base hourly rates by size, and daily minimums.
- Paramount Business Jets, New York to Miami private jet charterAugust 2026The high end of the New York to South Florida estimates, and the 2 hour 20 minute flight time in the worked example.
- Paramount Business Jets, Los Angeles to Las Vegas private jet charterAugust 2026The high end of the Los Angeles to Las Vegas estimate.
- Paramount Business Jets, New York to Aspen private jet charterAugust 2026The New York to Aspen estimate.
- VOMOS, Private Jet Charter CostJuly 27, 2026Base hourly rates and seat counts by category.
- Private Jet Card Comparisons, Jet card prices fall 3.1% in Q3, lowest since Q4 of 2023October 5, 2026All-in hourly averages for jet card programs, Q3 2026.
- evoJets, Teterboro to Opa-Locka route estimateSeptember 10, 2026The low end of the New York to South Florida estimates.
- Flycraft, Los Angeles to Las Vegas private jet costOctober 2, 2026The low end of the Los Angeles to Las Vegas estimate.
- IRS, Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.44Rates for calendar year 2026The 2026 segment fee.
- US Code, 26 U.S.C. 4261, tax on transportation of persons by airCurrentThe 7.5% federal excise tax.
Private jet charter
Know the route and the date?
Send them and we'll come back with aircraft and a price. Or call the desk, which is staffed around the clock.
Airplane Handling is an air charter broker. We are not a direct air carrier and do not have operational control of any aircraft. Every charter flight we arrange is operated by a properly licensed direct air carrier, which holds operational control of the flight.