One VIP airliner or two ultra-long-range jets?

For nineteen people going to the same place, the airliner is usually cheaper than two jets at about €11,000 an hour each, and it keeps the party in one cabin. Two jets win when the group splits en route, when the sector is beyond an airliner's range, or when an airport at either end cannot handle a 35.8 m wingspan.

Can any of these land at London City?

No. London City has a 1,508 m runway and a 5.5° glidepath, the steepest in the UK, and it admits only steep-approach-certified types such as the Phenom 300, the CJ family and the PC-24. For London, an airliner uses Luton or Farnborough, and the extra time on the ground is the trade you make for the cabin.

Is there really a bedroom and a shower?

On all three types, subject to the individual aircraft. A full-spec ACJ319 has a master suite with a queen-size flat bed, a private study and an en-suite; the BBJ has an aft master bedroom with an en-suite shower; the Lineage 1000E has a master suite and a stand-up shower in the aft bathroom. We confirm the layout on the tail, never on the type.

How much luggage actually fits?

More than any business jet, and it depends on the fuel tanks. An ACJ319 has about 8 m³ of hold, roughly twenty large cases on a tank-heavy tail and far more on a tail carrying fewer tanks. A nine-tank BBJ is down to 4.6 m³, twenty to twenty-five pieces. The Lineage 1000E carries 12.54 m³ and you can reach it in flight.

Class overview

VIP airliner

A converted airliner fitted out as a private cabin — bedrooms, lounges, a dining area and space for a big group or a whole delegation, non-stop across continents. Aircraft like the Embraer Lineage 1000, Airbus ACJ and Boeing BBJ.

from~€18,000/ flight hour

Passengers: 19–50
Range: 8,500–11,500 km
Cruise speed: ≈ 870 km/h
Best for: Large groups and delegations in a private wide cabin

An airliner reimagined as a private residence. A VIP airliner such as the Lineage 1000 offers a bedroom, lounge and dining areas for large groups or delegations — intercontinental range with the space of a whole aircraft, yours alone.

We don’t own the jets — we source them. With access to 4,500+ aircraft, we pick the exact tail that fits your route, your group and your budget. These are estimated from-prices per flight hour, to give you a sense of cost. Your exact quote depends on the aircraft, route and dates — just ask.

All aircraft classes

From the journal

The aircraft

Aircraft in this class

Pick a model to see its cabin, range and indicative hourly rate. We source the exact tail that fits your trip.

Airbus ACJ319

Airliner space, private cabin

19–50 · 8,150–9,630 km

from ~€16,000 / flight hour

Boeing BBJ

The flying private residence

19–50 · 11,100 km

from ~€18,000 / flight hour

Embraer Lineage 1000E

Wide-body comfort, business-jet agility

19 · 8,500 km

from ~€15,000 / flight hour

In detail

In practice

A VIP airliner is chartered when the group is the constraint, not the distance. An Airbus ACJ319, a Boeing BBJ or an Embraer Lineage 1000E gives you a cabin 24 to 26 m long, 2.74 to 3.70 m wide and 2.01 to 2.25 m high — floor area rather than a tube — with nineteen seats, a master bedroom, an en-suite shower and two or three lavatories. Range is the one thing the rung does not add: 8,500 to 11,500 km, below a Global 7500. From about €18,000 per flight hour, and the crew, handling and parking scale with the aircraft. Avily Lux owns no aircraft; we charter these tails through operators in Europe and the Gulf and name the one we are quoting. The same aircraft are sold as bizliners, executive airliners or VIP widebodies, depending on the broker.

Who charters a VIP airliner

Four profiles recur. A squad and its staff with kit, moving as one party because splitting it is not an option. A government or corporate delegation on a multi-city roadshow, equipment and working team travelling with the principals. A touring production. A family of fifteen or twenty who want a bedroom and a shower on a ten-hour sector.

The honest alternative is two ultra-long-range jets flying in loose formation. That usually costs more than one airliner at about €11,000 an hour each, splits the party and doubles the ground arrangements. Two jets win in three cases: when the group separates en route, when the sector is beyond an airliner's range, or when an airport at either end cannot take a 35.8 m wingspan.

Against an ultra-long-range jet

Ultra-long-range starts at about €11,000 an hour, a VIP airliner at about €18,000. That €7,000 buys width and floor: 3.53 m across a BBJ and 3.70 m across an ACJ319 against 2.49 m in a G650ER, and 2.16–2.25 m of ceiling instead of 1.88 m. It buys nineteen seats instead of thirteen to seventeen, a genuine master suite with an en-suite shower, and hold volume — 12.54 m³ on a Lineage 1000E, reachable in flight, against 5.5 m³ on a Global.

It does not buy distance, speed or cabin altitude. These aircraft cruise at about 870 km/h against 900, stop at 11,500 km, and hold an airliner cabin: 8,000 ft on a BBJ and 7,000 ft on a Lineage 1000E, against 2,900 ft on a Global 7500. There is no rung above this one.

What the range band really means

8,500 to 11,500 km, and on two of the three types that number was fixed at the completion centre years ago, not by the model. The ACJ319 takes up to six additional centre tanks and each one eats hold volume, so almost no charter tail carries all six. That is why we publish its range as a band, 8,150–9,630 km, and why Airbus's own pages give 4,400 nm for one tail and 5,200 nm for another with the same name on the nose.

The BBJ makes the same trade in belly tanks, three to ten of them. Its 11,100 km assumes the nine-tank fit, which cuts the hold to 4.6 m³: a long-range BBJ carries markedly less baggage than a short-range one, and a group chartering an airliner is usually chartering it for the baggage. The Lineage 1000E has no tank programme: 8,500 km is 8,500 km.

What moves the price

From about €18,000 per flight hour, and unlike the classes below, the aircraft is often not the expensive part.

Crew. Two pilots plus two or three cabin attendants scaling with the passenger count, and ACJ and BBJ tails commonly carry a flight engineer, so five is a normal complement — all needing rest and hotels on a multi-day trip. Catering for nineteen is not catering for eight.

Ground. Landing, handling and parking are charged on airliner scale at both ends. The 35.8 m wingspan of an ACJ319 or a BBJ puts it in ICAO code C, so stand availability at a busy FBO binds before runway length does. London City is out for all three: a 1,508 m runway and a 5.5° approach admit no airliner, and the short alpine and island strips are out as well. Farnborough, Luton, Le Bourget, Geneva, Nice and Al Maktoum are routine.

Positioning. Few of these tails are based in Europe, so ferry legs are long and a one-way can approach the cost of a return.

Frequently asked questions

One VIP airliner or two ultra-long-range jets?: For nineteen people going to the same place, the airliner is usually cheaper than two jets at about €11,000 an hour each, and it keeps the party in one cabin. Two jets win when the group splits en route, when the sector is beyond an airliner's range, or when an airport at either end cannot handle a 35.8 m wingspan.
Can any of these land at London City?: No. London City has a 1,508 m runway and a 5.5° glidepath, the steepest in the UK, and it admits only steep-approach-certified types such as the Phenom 300, the CJ family and the PC-24. For London, an airliner uses Luton or Farnborough, and the extra time on the ground is the trade you make for the cabin.
Is there really a bedroom and a shower?: On all three types, subject to the individual aircraft. A full-spec ACJ319 has a master suite with a queen-size flat bed, a private study and an en-suite; the BBJ has an aft master bedroom with an en-suite shower; the Lineage 1000E has a master suite and a stand-up shower in the aft bathroom. We confirm the layout on the tail, never on the type.
How much luggage actually fits?: More than any business jet, and it depends on the fuel tanks. An ACJ319 has about 8 m³ of hold, roughly twenty large cases on a tank-heavy tail and far more on a tail carrying fewer tanks. A nine-tank BBJ is down to 4.6 m³, twenty to twenty-five pieces. The Lineage 1000E carries 12.54 m³ and you can reach it in flight.