Every business jet has a headline range, and it is usually the first number quoted when aircraft are compared. It is a real figure, flown and certified, but it describes a specific and favourable set of conditions. Plan a trip right at that number and there is a good chance the operator will add a fuel stop. Here is how to read range claims, and how to plan around them.
What the published number assumes
Manufacturers quote range under standard assumptions so that aircraft can be compared on equal terms. The details vary by manufacturer, but a typical published figure assumes:
- A light payload. Often four passengers, sometimes fewer, with little baggage and full fuel tanks.
- Long-range cruise speed. The aircraft flies at its most economical speed, which is slower than the high-speed cruise figure printed elsewhere in the brochure.
- Still air and a standard day. No headwind, no tailwind, and temperatures that match the standard atmosphere.
- Reserves. Most business jet figures use NBAA IFR reserves: enough fuel on landing to fly on to an alternate airport and hold. The fuel is carried but not counted in the range.
None of these is unreasonable, and the reserves exist for good reason. But real trips rarely match all four at once.
What eats into range
Passengers and bags
Every aircraft has a maximum take-off weight. Fill every seat and load the bags, and the operator may not be able to carry full fuel without exceeding it. Less fuel means less range. On many jets the trade-off is modest; on some it costs hundreds of miles.
Wind
Wind is the biggest variable. In winter the jet stream over North America and the North Atlantic often blows at more than 100 knots at cruising altitude, and it blows from the west. A 60-knot average headwind on a five-hour flight costs about 300 nautical miles of distance over the ground. That is why many aircraft fly a coast-to-coast route nonstop eastbound but stop for fuel on the way back west.
Hot and high airports
Thin air at high-elevation airports, made thinner by summer heat, reduces engine thrust and wing lift. Aspen is the classic case: operators often limit take-off weight there, which means fewer passengers, less fuel, or both. Short runways have a similar effect at sea level.
Weather and alternates
If the forecast at your destination is poor, the crew must plan for an alternate airport, and the farther away it is, the more reserve fuel they carry. In icing conditions, engine and wing anti-ice systems add to fuel burn as well.
Speed
Flying faster burns more fuel per mile. A crew asked to make up time will fly at high-speed cruise, and range falls accordingly.
A rule of thumb for planning
Operators plan each flight with their own performance data, and that is the number that counts. For early planning, a useful habit is to treat 80 to 85% of the published range as a realistic nonstop figure for a full cabin in average winds, and to allow less for westbound winter flights.
| Class | Published range | Planning range, full cabin |
|---|---|---|
| Light jet | 2,000–2,150 nm | ~1,600–1,800 nm |
| Midsize | ~2,100 nm | ~1,700–1,800 nm |
| Super-midsize | 3,200–4,000 nm | ~2,600–3,400 nm |
| Large cabin | 4,000–4,300 nm | ~3,300–3,650 nm |
| Ultra long range | 7,500–7,700 nm | ~6,300–6,500 nm |
Three routes, three answers
Teterboro to Las Vegas is about 1,935 nautical miles. A Phenom 300E is published at around 2,010 nm, so on paper it makes it. Westbound in winter with five passengers it usually will not, and the operator will plan a fuel stop. A super-midsize flies it nonstop in most conditions.
Van Nuys to Teterboro is about 2,130 nm, and the prevailing winds help eastbound. A Citation XLS+, published at around 2,100 nm, is still at its limit with a full cabin. A Challenger 350 makes it with margin to spare.
London to New York, about 3,000 nm westbound, is the classic test. A Challenger 350, published at 3,200 nm, will often need a stop in winter. A Praetor 600 at about 4,000 nm, or a large-cabin jet, makes the crossing nonstop in most conditions, in roughly 7½ to 8½ hours.
Is a fuel stop so bad?
Not always. A planned stop for fuel typically takes 30 to 45 minutes on the ground, and it can let you fly a smaller aircraft for much less. On Teterboro to Las Vegas, a light jet at $3,500–5,500 an hour with a stop might fly around 5½ hours in total, against about 5 hours for a super-midsize at $6,500–9,500. Using the middle of each range, that is roughly $25,000 against $40,000 of flight time, before tax, fees and repositioning. For some groups the saving is worth 45 minutes on the ground. For others, the nonstop and the taller cabin are the point.
Those figures are illustrations, not quotes. What matters is that the decision is made in advance. A planned stop is a choice; an unplanned one, decided on the morning of departure because of winds or weight, is a frustration.
Questions worth asking
When a quote shows a nonstop near the edge of an aircraft’s range, three questions settle it quickly. What is the planned fuel load, and the expected reserve on landing, for my passengers and bags? If the winds on the day are stronger than forecast, where would a fuel stop be made and how long would it add? And is there an aircraft in the next class up that removes the question, and what does it cost? A good operator answers all three without fuss, and the answers tell you more than any brochure.
How we handle range in quotes
When a trip is close to the edge of an aircraft’s range, your advisor asks the operator for its planning figures for your passengers, bags and date, and tells you plainly whether the trip is a confident nonstop, a likely stop or a planned stop. If a slightly larger aircraft turns a likely stop into a confident nonstop, you see both options side by side, each with an all-in price.
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