Did You Know? 10 Interesting Facts About Private Jets

Fun facts about such luxurious aircraft.


Photo: Trans-Exec Private Jets

When we think about private jets, we think of the rich and famous, lavish interiors, and traveling in ultimate comfort. Maybe there is more to it than meets the eye. Here are some interesting facts about private jets and the business aviation industry.

1 Exclusive A380

The world's most expensive private jet was an Airbus A380 owned by Prince Alaweed bin Talal Al Saud; its estimated cost was over USD 500 million dollars. It was, of course, extravagantly furnished, featuring a Turkish bath, a garage with space for two cars, and a stable for horses and camels. There was also a prayer room that rotated to face Mecca.

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2 Attracting the crowds

The largest event that attracts private jets is the Super Bowl in the US. In Phoenix this year, there were 4,000 more take-offs and landings than usual at the city's airports, and over 1,000 private jets were parked at nearby airports during Super Bowl week.

3 The fastest

The fastest private jet in the world is the Cessna Citation X.

It can fly at 51,000 ft at a cruise speed of up to 0.935 Mach and 717 mph. It has a range of 3,460 nautical miles.

4 Famous faces

Private jets are costly, with price tags anywhere between USD 20 million and USD 60 million dollars. Oprah Winfrey has a Gulfstream G650, Jackie Chan an Embraer Legacy 650, and Beyonce and Jay Z own a Bombardier Challenger 850. Not to be outdone, Bill Gates has two Gulfstream G650s, and Taylor Swift has a Dassault Falcon 900LX and a Falcon 7X.

5 Accessibility

Within the US, a private jet can access over 5,000 airports, whereas a commercial airliner has approximately 550 airports to choose from.

6 Longest range

The Bombardier Global 8000 has the longest range of all private jets at 8,000 nautical miles (9,091 miles) on just one fuel tank. It could fly from Perth to London with eight passengers and four crew at Mach 0.85 or 710 mph. The fuel would cost around USD 53,000 for this trip.

7 Private jet popularity

In the US, the market for private jets is high at 49.7%. In Europe, it stands at 20.8%, and Asia-Pacific is next at 11.8%. .

Latin and South America follow closely at 11.6%, whilst Africa and the Middle East lag behind at 6.1 %.

8 Piloting the plane

Some famous faces also like to fly their own private aircraft. These include Tom Cruise (P-51 Mustang), John Travolta (various types including Boeing 707, B737, B747), Harrison Ford (Cessna Citation 680), and Jimmy Buffet (Falcon 900).

9 Costs

The average costs for chartering a private jet for one hour are:

• Gulfstream G550 USD 8640
• Bombardier Global XRS USD 8,045
• Challenger 604 USD 5,053
• Citation X USD 4,533

10 Gold plate

Donald Trump's Boeing 757 has 24-carat gold plating on many aircraft features. These include seat recline buttons, power outlets, seatbelt fastening, faucet handles, and bathroom sinks.

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