Charter aircraft, plainly explained
Private charter is priced and chosen by aircraft class — but quotes name real aircraft. Here's each class, what it runs per hour, and the specific models you'll actually see on a quote sheet.
Classes · smallest to largest
Turboprop
6-8 SEATS · $1,200–$2,800/HR EST
Propeller-driven, efficient on short regional hops and shorter runways. The value end of private travel.
Very Light Jet
4-6 SEATS · $1,800–$3,200/HR EST
The smallest, most affordable jets — jet speed and comfort for a small party on short trips.
Light Jet
6-8 SEATS · $2,500–$4,500/HR EST
The workhorse of domestic charter — a common, comfortable balance of speed, cabin, and cost.
Midsize Jet
7-9 SEATS · $4,000–$8,000/HR EST
More cabin, more range, stand-up comfort — a step up for longer legs or a larger group.
Super-Midsize Jet
8-10 SEATS · $5,000–$10,500/HR EST
Stand-up cabins and transcontinental range — near-heavy comfort without a heavy-jet price.
Heavy / Ultra-Long-Range Jet
10-16 SEATS · $8,000–$14,000/HR EST
The largest cabins and longest legs in charter — global range, full stand-up comfort.
The aircraft you'll actually charter
The most common models on the charter market, from the King Air to the Gulfstream flagships — what each one is and why operators fly it.
Pilatus PC-12
TURBOPROP · TYPICALLY 6–8 SEATS
The world's favorite single-engine turboprop — Swiss-built, famously versatile, and a staple of West Coast regional charter.
Beechcraft King Air 350
TURBOPROP · TYPICALLY 7–9 SEATS
The twin-turboprop benchmark — a Beechcraft line in continuous production longer than any other business aircraft.
Embraer Phenom 100
VERY LIGHT JET · TYPICALLY 4 SEATS
The very light jet that proved the category — clean-sheet Embraer design, a favorite first step into jet charter.
Cessna Citation M2
VERY LIGHT JET · TYPICALLY 4–6 SEATS
Cessna's modern entry Citation — the current form of the most-produced business-jet family ever.
HondaJet
VERY LIGHT JET · TYPICALLY 4–5 SEATS
The unmistakable over-wing-engine jet — Honda's clean-sheet design, and the quietest, roomiest take on the category.
Embraer Phenom 300
LIGHT JET · TYPICALLY 6–8 SEATS
The world's best-selling light jet year after year — the default answer for the classic SoCal getaway.
Cessna Citation CJ3
LIGHT JET · TYPICALLY 6–7 SEATS
The CJ-series workhorse — docile, efficient, everywhere. A charter fleet staple for two decades.
Cessna Citation XLS
MIDSIZE JET · TYPICALLY 7–9 SEATS
Frequently cited as the most-chartered business jet in the world — the midsize that made stand-up cabins routine.
Hawker 800XP
MIDSIZE JET · TYPICALLY 8 SEATS
The classic midsize — a lineage dating to the 1960s, famous for one of the widest, most comfortable cabins in its class.
Learjet 60
MIDSIZE JET · TYPICALLY 7–8 SEATS
The name that means 'private jet' — a fast-climbing midsize from the most famous line in business aviation.
Bombardier Challenger 350
SUPER-MIDSIZE JET · TYPICALLY 8–10 SEATS
The best-selling super-midsize of its era — flat floor, wide cabin, coast-to-coast legs. The fleet favorite.
Gulfstream G280
SUPER-MIDSIZE JET · TYPICALLY 8–10 SEATS
Gulfstream's super-midsize — big-jet cabin philosophy and long legs, one class below the flagships.
Cessna Citation X
SUPER-MIDSIZE JET · TYPICALLY 8 SEATS
Famously the fastest civilian aircraft of its era — the jet you charter to beat the clock.
Bombardier Challenger 650
HEAVY / ULTRA-LONG-RANGE JET · TYPICALLY 10–12 SEATS
The wide-body of domestic charter — a cabin famous for its width, on a line airlines of the sky have trusted for decades.
Gulfstream G550
HEAVY / ULTRA-LONG-RANGE JET · TYPICALLY 12–16 SEATS
The long-range Gulfstream that defined an era — a globally proven flagship now widely available in charter.
Gulfstream G650
HEAVY / ULTRA-LONG-RANGE JET · TYPICALLY 12–16 SEATS
The modern flagship — among the fastest, longest-legged business jets ever built, and the benchmark for the top of the market.
Bombardier Global 6000
HEAVY / ULTRA-LONG-RANGE JET · TYPICALLY 12–14 SEATS
Bombardier's ultra-long-range Global — three living zones and intercontinental reach, the G550's great rival.
Cessna Citation CJ2
LIGHT JET · TYPICALLY 5–6 SEATS
The CJ series' sweet spot for short hops — simple, efficient, and everywhere in the charter fleet.
Cessna Citation CJ4
LIGHT JET · TYPICALLY 6–8 SEATS
The biggest, fastest CitationJet — light-jet economics stretched toward midsize capability.
Cessna Citation V / Ultra / Encore
LIGHT JET · TYPICALLY 7–8 SEATS
The hard-working 560 family — a straight-wing Citation line prized by operators for durability and value.
Pilatus PC-24
LIGHT JET · TYPICALLY 6–8 SEATS
The 'Super Versatile Jet' — PC-12 practicality with jet speed, including unpaved-strip capability no other jet matches.
Cessna Citation Mustang
VERY LIGHT JET · TYPICALLY 4 SEATS
Cessna's entry jet — a four-seat VLJ that makes short private hops genuinely affordable.
Learjet 40 / 45
LIGHT JET · TYPICALLY 6–8 SEATS
The modern light Learjets — the marque's trademark speed in its most accessible form.
Cessna Citation Latitude
MIDSIZE JET · TYPICALLY 8–9 SEATS
The modern midsize benchmark — a flat floor, a six-foot cabin, and a fleet presence that makes it easy to book.
Cessna Citation Sovereign
SUPER-MIDSIZE JET · TYPICALLY 8–9 SEATS
The long-legged Citation — coast-to-coast capability with the line's short-field manners.
Embraer Praetor 500 / 600
SUPER-MIDSIZE JET · TYPICALLY 8–9 SEATS
Embraer's technology flagships in the midsize ranks — full fly-by-wire and intercontinental legs.
Gulfstream G200
SUPER-MIDSIZE JET · TYPICALLY 8–9 SEATS
The super-midsize that wears the Gulfstream badge — wide-cabin comfort at midsize-adjacent rates.
Bombardier Challenger 604 / 605
HEAVY / ULTRA-LONG-RANGE JET · TYPICALLY 9–12 SEATS
The charter fleet's favorite heavy — the widest cabin in its class and a market full of well-kept examples.
Bombardier Challenger 850
HEAVY / ULTRA-LONG-RANGE JET · TYPICALLY 12–15 SEATS
The regional-airliner-turned-business-jet — the biggest cabin per dollar in the heavy ranks.
Embraer Legacy 600 / 650
HEAVY / ULTRA-LONG-RANGE JET · TYPICALLY 13–14 SEATS
Three cabin zones and airline-derived reliability — the group-travel specialist of the heavy class.
Dassault Falcon 2000
HEAVY / ULTRA-LONG-RANGE JET · TYPICALLY 8–10 SEATS
The French widebody twin — fighter-lineage handling, a wide cabin, and short-field grace.
Dassault Falcon 900
HEAVY / ULTRA-LONG-RANGE JET · TYPICALLY 10–12 SEATS
The three-engine Falcon — long legs, tough-field capability, and a devoted following.
Gulfstream GIV / G450
HEAVY / ULTRA-LONG-RANGE JET · TYPICALLY 12–14 SEATS
The classic big Gulfstream — the airframe that defined intercontinental business aviation, now charter's heavy-jet value play.
Beechcraft King Air 200 / 250
TURBOPROP · TYPICALLY 6–7 SEATS
The most produced twin turboprop in history — the 350's compact, ubiquitous sibling.
Examples, not an exhaustive roster — the specific aircraft on your quote varies by operator. Photos are of representative aircraft, credited on each page.