- Category rate
- An hourly charter price band published for a class of aircraft — light, midsize, super-midsize, large-cabin, ultra-long-range, VIP airliner — not for a specific model. Two models in the same category show the same band. It is a planning reference; the firm price for a trip comes with the quote. Every rate on this site is labelled with its source and date.
- Route cost guide
- The category rate multiplied by the estimated flight time for your city pair. Positioning legs, airport fees, catering and de-icing are quoted per trip and are not in it.
- Nautical mile (nm)
- The distance unit of aviation: 1 nm = 1.852 km. Ranges on this site are shown as km with nm in brackets.
- MMo — maximum operating Mach number
- The highest speed, as a fraction of the speed of sound, at which an aircraft is certified to operate. Our flight-time estimate uses MMo × 573.6 kt (the speed of sound at typical cruise altitude) as the cruise speed; real cruise is usually a little slower.
- Published range
- The manufacturer's maximum range under the conditions it states — typically a set number of passengers, long-range cruise and NBAA IFR reserves, with no wind. A best case by definition; payload, headwind and a hot or high departure airfield shorten it.
- NBAA IFR reserves
- A standard fuel-reserve assumption used by manufacturers when quoting range: enough fuel to fly to an alternate airport 200 nm away and hold, on top of the trip. Range figures without a stated reserve basis are not comparable.
- Range check — non-stop / at the limit / stop needed
- Our route check divides the estimated flight distance (great-circle distance × 1.05 for real airways routing) by the published range. Below 90 % we say non-stop; from 90 % up to 100 % at the limit — ask the operator, who runs the real flight plan; above 100 % stop needed.
- Estimated flight time
- Distance ÷ cruise speed plus 0.3 h for taxi, climb and approach. An estimate for pricing, not a schedule.
- Runway check
- The manufacturer's published takeoff distance (at the stated conditions, usually maximum weight, sea level, standard atmosphere) compared with the longest open runway at the departure airport, and landing distance with the arrival. A coarse filter: heat, altitude, a wet runway or obstacles lengthen the real requirement, and the operator's performance calculation decides. “No published figure” means the manufacturer does not state the distance — we do not estimate it.
- Passengers (max) / (typical)
- Max is the densest configuration the manufacturer certifies. Typical, where shown, is the manufacturer's “up to” figure for its standard layouts. The aircraft you are quoted seats whatever its owner chose — confirmed with the offer.
- Cabin altitude
- The pressure altitude inside the cabin at cruise. Lower is more comfortable; a cabin at 4,850 ft feels like Denver, one at 8,000 ft like a mountain village.
- “Not published”
- The manufacturer's public specification does not state that value for that model, or the model is out of production and no current page exists. We leave the cell blank rather than fill it from unsourced databases.
- Listing / lot
- A specific aircraft for sale — a tail number with a year, a base, a seller and a price basis — as opposed to a model, which is the type. In Buy mode, rows marked Listing are the seller's figures for that airframe; rows marked Model are manufacturer data for the type.
- Listing configuration
- How a specific aircraft is actually laid out — seats, divan, galley, lavatory — which can differ from the model's certified maximum. Where a listing's seat count or range differs from the model, the difference is explained on the listing.
- Price basis
- Where a listing's asking price comes from and the date it was stated — the seller's guidance, a broker circular — always dated. Never our valuation; a pre-purchase inspection sets the real price.
- Seller confirmed (date)
- The date our desk last confirmed with the seller that the aircraft is still for sale at the stated basis. An internal discipline, not a condition on you: any listed aircraft can be enquired about today.
- Empty leg
- A repositioning flight an operator must fly anyway — to collect passengers or return to base — offered at a fraction of the on-demand price. Fixed aircraft, date and routing; it moves if the originating trip moves.
- Air operator certificate (AOC)
- The authority's approval that lets an operator fly commercially. We are a broker: the operator holds the AOC, carries the insurance and flies the aircraft.
- ECB reference rate
- The euro foreign-exchange reference rate the European Central Bank publishes each business day around 16:00 CET. One rate is used site-wide for USD↔EUR and is shown with its date wherever a conversion appears.