The world of commercial flying is a modern-day nightmare of security ques, lost baggage, cramped leg space, and unwanted delays.
Which is why more and more individuals are choosing to step away from the complicated and frankly dissatisfying process of flying on commercial airlines and instead are choosing to fly with private jet services.
The growing number of private jets, as well as its opening availability, has made it a more attractive option for those that want to travel without the complications associated with commercial airline travel.
So, to help you understand everything you need to know about traveling on a private jet we have put together this article that explains flying private from start to finish!
What is a private jet?
A private jet is any charter jet aircraft that is used to transport a small group of people from one destination to another. They are also commonly referred to as business jets, corporate jets, or a bizjet.
While almost exclusively used for transporting private, corporate, or governmental individuals from one place to another, private jets have also been used for the express delivery of important parcels like organs or dispatches and also the evacuation of individuals from disaster zones.
The history of private jets.
The first small jet-powered aircraft was the Heinkel He 178 and it had its first flight all the way back in 1939, so beginning the start of the age of private jet charter flights.
Since then, the industry has boomed and a fascinating timeline of private jet businesses and ownership emerged.
- 1939-The Heinkel He 178 turbo-powered jet aircraft makes its first flight and becomes the world’s first jet aircraft.
- 1963– The Learjet becomes the first purpose-built private luxury aircraft after a flight out of Wichita, Kansas.
- 1966-The Grumman Gulfstream II takes flight and becomes a leading provider in corporate jets for nearly 20 years.
- 1977-The European business aviation association (EBAA) begins and encourages a professional standards environment for private jet ownership and charter companies.
- 1980-Paris Le Bourget airport becomes a dedicated airport for private jets and is still one of the largest and busiest private jet airports to this day, with over 50 000 flights a year.
- 1996-The Cessna Citation XL takes its first flight and is to this day one of the world’s most bought private jet planes.
- 2008-The Gulfstream G650 takes its first flight and becomes the world’s longest-range private jet with a maximum distance of 7500 nautical miles.
- 2016-The 747-8i Boeing Business Jet is released and becomes and is still to this day the world’s largest private jet in use.
- 2019-The Gulfstream G700 is unveiled and becomes the fastest private jet in the world with a max speed of 760 miles per hour.
The boom of private aviation has meant that there is now a greater range of private jet types available than ever before as well as the infrastructure to support them. With the boom of private aviation still firmly in motion many individuals are finding a personalized way to fly faster and better than ever before by using private jets.
Private jet classifications and examples
With so many different types of private jets available it is harder for people to know which is the right type for them to use when flying.
So, to help make this clear we have put together a list of the different business jet type models, their capacity, some advantages as well as the most common models used.
- Ultra-Light Private Jets-The smallest private jet model available this business jet can carry between 4 to 6 people and are the most cost-effective private jet types to operate. The most common model type of ultra-light private jets is the HondaJet HA-420 with a range of 1,223 nautical miles.
- Light Private Jets-One of the most popular business jet models, these private jet types can carry between 6 to 8 people and have access to smaller runways which means they can use the less popular airports and reduce travel time. The most common small light private jet model is the Cessna Citation CJ2 and it has a range of 1530 nautical miles.
- Super Light Private Jets-Super light private jets are more spacious and luxurious models of light private jets and can carry between 6 and 10 individuals.