Aircraft, compared with first class

Every category of private aircraft with seats, range, cabin height and typical hourly cost, and where each one competes with an airline seat.

Private aircraft categories (US market estimates before tax and fees)
Category	Seats	Typical range	Cabin height	Per hour	Examples
Turboprop	6–9	~1,800 nm	—	$1,800–3,200	Pilatus PC-12, King Air 350
Very light jet	4–5	1,400–1,550 nm	—	$2,800–4,200	HondaJet, Citation M2
Light jet	6–8	2,000–2,150 nm	~4.8–4.9 ft	$3,500–5,500	Phenom 300E, Citation CJ4, Learjet 75
Midsize jet	7–9	~2,100 nm	~5.7 ft	$4,500–7,000	Citation XLS+
Super-midsize jet	8–10	3,200–4,000 nm	~6.0 ft	$6,500–9,500	Challenger 350, Citation Longitude, Praetor 600
Large cabin jet	10–16	4,000–4,300 nm	6.0–6.2 ft	$8,500–13,000	Gulfstream G450, Challenger 650, Falcon 2000LXS
Ultra long range jet	13–19	7,500–7,700 nm	6.2 ft+	$12,000–20,000+	Gulfstream G650ER, Global 7500

A first-class cabin seat on a domestic airliner is roughly comparable in width to a light jet seat; cabin height is where larger jets pull ahead.

Against the airline

Where each size competes.

The right aircraft depends on group size, distance and what you would otherwise pay in fares.

Cheapest per hour; on very short routes it can undercut a few first-class fares for a family.

The usual rival to first class on trips of one to three hours for four to six people.

More headroom and bags for larger groups; a step up in comfort over a domestic first-class seat for the group.

Coast to coast nonstop with a near stand-up cabin; competes with transcontinental premium cabins for groups.

Stand-up cabins and long range; for two people, a long-haul first-class bed is usually better value.

Tell us how many are travelling and the route. We’ll quote the aircraft that fit, all-in.