New York City and Los Angeles are two cities tangled in an eternal rivalry, as people constantly compare them and try to decide which is “the better one”. The thing is, the “better” city completely depends on one’s subjective opinion, as both have plenty to offer.
But if you’re traveling from New York to Los Angeles, it means that you are fully aware of how awesome the City of Angеls is. It’s a great change going from the always crowded metropolitan New York, to the always sunny LA, and what better way to get there than with a private jet?
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New York to Los Angeles: Overview
Obviously, the best way to reach Los Angeles is by plane. The two cities are located on opposite coasts, with some 2,800 miles of road between them. A private jet, however, will take you there in five to six hours, on average.
The average estimated price for such a route amounts to some $35,000. The price may vary depending on the company that hosts the flight, the jet you’ve chosen, even the FBO that you’ll take off from. Each company, such as PrivateFly, FXAir, or The Aviation Factory, will give you a quote of how much your flight will cost and what are the items forming the final price.
Unlike the popular opinion that LA is a summer destination, it’s actually most pleasant and worth visiting from March to May, or if you want a more relaxed atmosphere, in September or November. That’s when the air in Los Angeles is breathable and you can actually enjoy the sun instead of fearing that you’ll burn.
In this article, I’m gonna give you the average prices for all types and models of planes that can take you from New York to Los Angeles. The prices have been taken from The Aviation Factory, so note that they might slightly change if you address a different provider.

Pricing Options
The most important part of your experience will be the tickets. This might not be very exciting and spontaneous, but you have to know how much a certain pleasure in life will cost you. Now, we said that the average price is somewhere around $35,000.
There are many factors that shape the final price, those being the size and model of the plane, number of passengers (if you decide to split the price, that is), time and date of departure, and so on. The types of jets you can choose from, depending on the number of passengers and comfort, are turboprops, light lets, midsize, and heavy jets.
Clearly, each category contains dozens of jets that also vary in size and quality. That’s why a light jet can be more expensive to hire than a midsize or even a heavy jet, in some cases. For this purpose, I’ve listed the prices in the table below as given at The Aviation Factory.
The company doesn’t have a turboprop jet to offer, as these usually have a smaller coverage range, and New York – Los Angeles might be too big of a deal. However, some companies that have high-quality turboprop planes in their fleet, might offer you one.
Aircraft type | Number of passengers | New York to Los Angeles route price | Estimated flight time |
Light jet | 5 – 9 | $33,600 | 6h 10 min |
Midsize jet | 7 – 10 | $32,950 | 5h 45 min |
Heavy jet | 8 – 18 | $39,800 | 5h 40 min |
I would personally prefer a midsize or a super-midsize jet for this trip. A super-midsize cabin is a bit wider than a regular and can fit a few more people. It’s actually a subcategory, so consider the midsize price for this particular jet.
A light jet is another great option for this route. At FXAir, for example, you can choose the Learjet 45, Hawker 400XP, or the Citation V, all of which will take you to Los Angeles with style and comfort.
A midsize jet, as I was saying, is a more convenient option. The Aviation Factory offers the Citation X, which needs some five hours to pass the route and costs $35,600 before fees and taxes.
A heavy jet, however, which is not to be confused with an airliner that packs almost 100 people, needs a little less time than a midsize-cabined jet. However, it’s a bit more expensive than both previous categories, which only makes sense as it fits more passengers and spends more fuel.
These are overview prices, and below in the text, I will give you concrete prices, flight estimated flights, and capacity for concrete jets. Note that not every company will give you the prices up front, most of them will ask that you call them or send a “quote request” before receiving information regarding the prices.

New York to Los Angeles Airports
In case you still haven’t flown private, know that you’ll also need to choose a private terminal or an FBO (fixed-base operator) that will host your flight. As private flyers don’t wait in lines like those who fly commercial, they find their preferred FBO, relax with a drink and a snack, and then board their private jet.
Luckily, both New York and Los Angeles are important US centers, so there are plenty of airports that offer FBOs. The airports you already know, such as JFK, or Teterboro, have an abundant number of private terminals around them, and it’s our job to see which and where they are.
From New York (JFK) to Los Angeles
There is no single person on this planet who hasn’t heard of the John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport in New York. This is usually the first choice for many who take off from this major city. However, bear in mind that you are looking for an FBO, and JFK has a decent amount of them in its surroundings.
The FBOs are run by private companies, such as Sheltair Aviation, which operates the most popular private terminal there. It’s well-equipped and has comfortable waiting lounges, an entertainment facility, and even showers.
This is not your only option, of course. Another FBO that’s a popular choice among travelers is the one operated by Allied Aviation, which might be a bit less expensive in terms of fees and taxes than Sheltair. However, make sure to check this directly with the company. Allied Aviation also provides other services, such as infrastructure development, fueling, and maintenance.
The John F. Kennedy airport is easy to reach from Times Square. There are always shuttles that can take you there, as the road itself is 20-miles long. If you end up in traffic, you might need up to an hour and a half to reach it, or even a bit longer by public transport.
From New York Teterboro Airport to Los Angeles
The Teterboro Airport in New Jersey is always an interesting and, if I may say, smart choice to take off from. Located on the other side of the Hudson River, it’s not officially located on New York’s territory, which is only good because prices, fees, and taxes are lower in Jersey.
Reaching it has never been easier. Everyone who has been at least once in New Jersey knows that a bus can take you to Times Square in 20 minutes. The same goes for going to Teterboro Airport.
But the best thing about Teterboro is that it has the largest number of FBOs in its surroundings and is an attractive airport for private flyers due to its location and choices of private terminals. Here’s in short which FBOs you can choose from:
- Air Bound Aviation;
- Atlantic Aviation;
- Meridian Teterboro;
- Greenwood Lake Aviation
- Ross Aviation;
- Million Air White Plains;
- Linden Airport Management;
- Lynx FBO Network.
From New York LaGuardia Airport to Los Angeles
The LaGuardia Airport is a local New York airport mostly hosting regional flights. It’s located within the borders of New York City, or more specifically in Queens, which means that you need some hour and a half to reach it from Manhattan.
I can’t say that LaGuardia is full of private terminals. To be honest, I was only able to locate one FBO operated by Sheltair. While this company has earned our trust throughout the years and provides excellent services, it would be nice to see another choice. At the same time, Sheltair offers other jet services as well, such as maintenance and fueling.
Which Planes Can You Fly to Los Angeles from Each Category?
As we mentioned before, there are several categories of planes, with their size being the main parameter. These categories have subcategories, like the case with midsize and super-midsize. Since light, midsize, and heavy are very general terms, let’s see which are the jets that you can actually board and fly from New York to Los Angeles.

Small and Midsize Jets (Turboprops, Light Jets, and Midsize Jets)
Small jets are a rare option when you fly long distances, but they can be offered by some companies. For example, Air Charter Service has some smaller jets listed as an offer for the route New York – Los Angeles.
The Bombardier Learjet 35 is an excellent small jet that can take you to LA without any difficulties. It needs a little bit over six hours to pass the route and will cost you $37,450 if you book it via the above-mentioned company. You will be able to take seven more people on board with you, so the expenses are not that huge if you’re “splitting the bill”.
Another good option for a small jet might be the Learjet 60XR, Bombardier’s most recent model, which will give you more comfort and faster pass time but will also cost you over $41,000.
On the other hand, this route mostly requires a midsize, or even better, super-midsize jet. It has the space and power to flawlessly fly the route. Such an example is the Challenger 300, which will cost you only $34,000 if you book it via Paramount Business Jets. The price is pretty low if you see that the Learjet is some 20% more expensive. This is due to the low operating costs, making the Challenger super-efficient.
The Challenger 300 can fit a maximum of eleven people inside and needs 5 hours and 15 minutes to fly over the States and reach Los Angeles.
Heavy Jets
Heavy jets are also a good choice if you’re going to fly a distance like this. From what I’ve seen, the Challenger 601 is a very lucrative option, costing only $37,000 with Paramount Business Jets. It flies at a speed of 440 miles per hour (mph) and takes 5 hours and 15 minutes to get to Los Angeles. It can fit a maximum of 14 people in a wide and comfortable cabin.
Another option would be the Gulfstream G-IV from the same category. It’s a bigger plane which would need a bit more time to get there – 5 hours and 45 minutes, but the interior is incomparable with the previous one in terms of luxury and comfort. To rent this jet, you’ll need $42,000.
Take a look at the table below for more precise info.

Prices Per Plane Type – Overview
Plane type | |||
Light and midsize jets | Number of passengers | Flight time | Price |
Bombardier Learjet 35 | 8 | 6h 05 min | $37,450 |
Bombardier Learjet 60XR | 8 | 5h 50 min | $41,700 |
Challenger 300 | 11 | 5h 15 min | $34,000 |
Heavy jets | |||
Challenger 601 | 14 | 5h 15 min | $37,000 |
Gulfstream G-IV | 14 | 5h 45 min | $42,000 |
Conclusion
Hopefully, the article has met its goal and you now know how to hire a jet from New York to Los Angeles and what that’d cost you. Also, we again remind you of the flight estimation, which is somewhere between five and six hours.
The average price you’d have to pay is some $35,000 but research carefully because you could easily end up overpaying this service. The most convenient airport to fly from is Teterboro in New Jersey, due to the large number of private terminals surrounding it.