How to read an aircraft comparison (and what the numbers leave out)

Key takeaways

• Passengers (max) is the manufacturer's densest layout. The aircraft you are quoted usually seats fewer.
• Range is a published maximum under stated conditions. Our route check flags 90 % and above as "at the limit" for a reason.
• The hourly rate is a category rate, not a model rate. Two jets in one category show the same band; the firm price comes with the quote.
• "Not published" means the manufacturer does not state that figure. We do not fill the gap with an estimate.

A comparison table looks final: rows, columns, a star on the best value. It is a useful tool — and it is easy to read more into it than the data supports. This is how to use our compare tool, the A-vs-B pages and the charter-or-own calculator without being misled by them.

Where every number comes from

Every cell in our tables carries its source: hover a value and you see the publisher and the retrieval date; the Sources block under each table lists them in full. Stage-one figures — seats, cabin dimensions, Mach, range — come from the manufacturers' published specifications. The extended rows — takeoff and landing distance, baggage volume, engines, cabin altitude — were read from each manufacturer's current specification page, with the manufacturer's own conditions printed under the value (for example SL, ISA, MTOW: sea level, standard atmosphere, maximum takeoff weight). Airports and runway lengths come from the OurAirports open dataset. Hourly rates are the published category bands from Paramount Business Jets, dated. The euro conversion is the ECB reference rate, also dated.

If a value has no source, it is not on the page. That is the whole rule.

Passengers: max versus typical

"Passengers (max)" is the highest-density configuration the manufacturer certifies. Operators rarely fly it. A super-midsize jet with a published maximum of 10 or 12 is typically outfitted for 8 or 9; a large-cabin jet certified for 19 is often flown with 12 to 14 seats and a divan. Where a manufacturer publishes an "up to" figure for its standard layouts we show it as Passengers (typical); where it does not, the row is absent. The exact layout of the aircraft we quote is confirmed with the offer — ask for the floor plan.

Range: a best case, on purpose

Published range is a maximum under stated conditions — usually a set number of passengers, long-range cruise speed, NBAA IFR reserves, no wind. On a real day the winter headwind over the Atlantic, a full cabin, a hot departure airfield or a diversion requirement all shorten it. Our route check divides the great-circle distance (with a routing factor) by the published range and reports three verdicts: non-stop, at the limit at 90 % and above, and stop needed. "At the limit" is not a maybe — it is a signal to ask the operator, who will run the actual flight plan with the actual weather.

The hourly rate is a category rate

This is the row most often misread. We show hourly rate bands by category — light, midsize, super-midsize, large-cabin, ultra-long-range, VIP airliner. Two aircraft in the same category show the same band, because the band is a market reference for the class, not a measurement of the model. A newer airframe, a better-connected cabin, a shorter notice period or a positioning leg all move the real price. The route cost guide multiplies the band by the estimated flight time — it is a bracket for planning, and the firm price is the quote. The label under every rate says exactly this; we are repeating it here because it matters.

The runway check

When you set a route, the table adds a runway row: the aircraft's published takeoff distance against the longest open runway at the departure airport, and its published landing distance against the arrival. It is a coarse but honest filter. Cannes-Mandelieu's longest runway is 1,540 m; a Challenger 3500 publishes 1,474 m at maximum weight, so it passes, while a Global 6500 (1,873 m) and a G500 (1,615 m) do not — at maximum weight. Lighter, they may. A hot afternoon, a high-elevation field, a wet runway or an obstacle on the climb-out all lengthen the real requirement, and only the operator's performance calculation settles it. Where a manufacturer publishes no landing figure — Gulfstream, for instance — the check says "no published figure" rather than inventing one.

"Not published"

You will see this in the extended rows. It means 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 could fill those cells from third-party databases; we do not, because those numbers are often copied from one another with no traceable origin. A blank we can explain beats a figure we cannot defend.

Listing rows versus model rows (Buy mode)

In Buy mode, some rows are marked Listing — the seller's figures for that specific airframe: its year, base, asking price basis and, where the configuration differs from the type, its seat count or range. Everything else is marked Model and describes the type, not the aircraft. A listing's price is the seller's guidance on the date shown, never our estimate; a pre-purchase inspection sets the real one. Every listing shows the date the seller last confirmed it to us. That is our internal discipline, not a condition on you: any aircraft you see listed, you can ask about today.

The charter-or-own calculator

The calculator takes the charter side from the category band and the ownership side entirely from you — purchase price, expected resale, holding period, fixed costs, cost per hour. Every ownership field starts empty. We publish no ownership averages because there is no honest average across airframes, ages, bases and crew models; a management proposal or your own books are the right inputs. The chart shows where the two lines cross and the text says between which hours, against both ends of the charter band. It is arithmetic on your numbers, not advice.

What to do with the table

Use it to shortlist, not to decide. When two aircraft are close on the rows that matter for your trip, the difference will be settled by things no table holds: the specific aircraft's interior and age, the operator, the crew, the positioning and the date. Send us the shortlist and the route — the desk returns specific tails, confirmed layouts and all-in prices.