Why Private Jets Are Faster Than Commercial Planes

The first American jet airliner, the Boeing 707, typically cruised at Mach 0.85. The similarly sized Airbus A321XLR that flies similar distances can only cruise at Mach 0.78. This has happened across the board, as today’s airliners fly at the same speeds or slower than the planes of the past. In private aviation, however, travel has sped up. Business jets are breaking speed records, and shortening long journeys, and the newest Bombardier Global models have even broken the sound barrier.

These jets are hardly using any new technologies not available to airliners. However, the phenomenon is new, as business jets have only begun to outrun airliners within the past few decades. In recent years, it’s become the norm for the largest and most expensive private planes to cruise at or above Mach 0.90. These are speeds you’ll rarely see on an airliner, which typically stays below Mach 0.85. What’s behind this recent trend?

Airlines Don’t Care About Speed

Fuel efficiency is critical for an industry as cost-sensitive as the airline industry. While a Boeing 747 can top out past Mach 0.90, it’ll burn more fuel, costing the airline more money. Meanwhile, there’s little benefit to flying faster. The flight will land sooner, but not enough that an airline can schedule another flight and use the plane more. Passengers also tend to prioritize cost above all else and will almost always choose a longer but cheaper ticket over a more expensive, faster flight.

Even the Concorde, a supersonic transport that cruised at twice the speed of sound, was a flop. Only 14 were ever delivered to British Airways and Air France, while supersonic airliners went away as a concept. The Concorde became a brand centered around the exclusivity of flying supersonic targeted towards the ultra-rich, but the fact that it was a rare experience helped sell the plane as a brand.

Meanwhile, the difference between Mach 0.90 and Mach 0.80 is not enough to sell most business travelers pricier tickets. Time and schedule are often more important than cost for these passengers, but landing half an hour early doesn’t make much of a difference. This is especially true when you take into account airport and ATC delays, which can erase this benefit.

Private Jet Owners Don’t Prioritize Cost As Much

Private jets are inherently more expensive than commercial travel. They cost tens of millions of dollars, are more expensive to operate, and are often less luxurious than many of the world’s top first and business class products. The reason why people and companies purchase corporate planes is because of time, convenience, and prestige.

Flying from New York to Zurich involves arriving at John F. Kennedy or Newark at least two hours before your flight, after which you’ll take a seven-hour flight and then go through customs and baggage claim before finally exiting the airport. With a Gulfstream, you simply walk up to the plane at Teterboro and go, then you leave the plane and go when you land in Zurich. What could take close to 10 hours is now closer to eight or seven, which is a much bigger difference than flying an Airbus A330 slightly faster. The faster cruise is a small additional benefit.

Additionally, taking a private jet means that you can leave whenever you want and go wherever you want. As an example, there are no non-stop flights between New York and Maui, but you can fly nonstop on a Bombardier Global. This will be faster, easier, and more convenient because of flying private’s flexibility. Again, the faster cruise speed is more of a bonus for passengers and a feature that can be marketed rather than a defining advantage.

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The Real Speed Of Private Planes

The newest Bombardier Global and Gulfstream models are often promoted as the fastest business jets in history, often cruising at or above Mach 0.90. The newest generation of Bombardier Globals, the 7500 and 8000, have even flown past Mach 1 during testing. However, most private jets are not speed demons like the $80+ million offerings from these companies.

It’s generally agreed that there are five categories of business jets: very-light, light, midsize, super-midsize, and large or ultra-long-range. Additionally, there are airliner-based business jets that are even larger and offer more range. Ultra-long-range jets are currently setting speed records, but smaller private planes tend to be more modest with their cruising speed, and some of the smallest models fly much slower than a typical airliner.

Even ultra-long-range jets like the newest Gulfstream G700 and the Bombardier Global 8000 do not always outpace the airliners. While these aircraft can easily fly beyond Mach 0.90, this does still increase fuel burn, as private jets are not immune to the effects of transonic flight. In the case of the Gulfstream G800, cruising at Mach 0.90 drops the range by 1,000 NM (1,852 KM) versus flying at Mach 0.85.

The Importance Of Field Performance

Credit: Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis I Shutterstock

Part of the benefit of private jet travel is the convenience of flying to different, more convenient airports that experience fewer delays. However, many of these airfields are compact and have short runways, such as Teterboro or London City Airport. A private jet is no good if it cannot use private airports.

Beyond just takeoff performance, these aircraft have to possess excellent climb and descent performance in order to be certified to fly into places like London City Airport. Consider that the largest purpose-built business jet, the Bombardier Global 7500, is similar in size to an Airbus A319, which is not approved to fly into London City.

While smaller aircraft inherently take off and land in shorter distances, ultra-long-range behemoths must have powerful engines and excellent high-lift devices to provide the performance necessary to fly into private airports. This results in these types of jets having some of the best power-to-weight ratios of any aircraft. The extra power also helps these planes cruise faster.

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High-Altitude Cruising

Ultra-long-range jets typically cruise much higher than commercial aircraft. Most airliners cruise between 30,000 ft and 43,000 ft, while the Boeing 747 is certified to fly up to 45,100 ft (the newest 747-8 is only certified for 43,000 ft). Meanwhile, the largest business jets can typically fly up to 51,000 ft, and even smaller private aircraft can climb to high altitudes relative to their size.

Air at higher altitudes is thinner, so aircraft face less resistance. However, planes that fly at higher altitudes are pressurized, and this adds weight, part of which comes from designing the fuselage to withstand the expansion and compression that occurs during a pressurization cycle. As planes climb higher, the strain on the fuselage increases.

Aircraft design is a complex process full of compromises. Making an airliner cruise at 51,000 ft would involve substantial reinforcement to handle the extra stress, and planes are already quite efficient at their current altitudes. Since private jets don’t prioritize fuel efficiency as highly, the decision is made to reinforce the fuselage and design the aircraft to cruise at 51,000 ft.

The Prestige Of Flying Fast

Credit: Photo: BlueBarronPhoto | Shutterstock

Private jets represent an entirely new level of opulence and luxury. While specs aren’t typically exciting to people who aren’t aviation enthusiasts, speed is something that everyone can be impressed by. When a customer is dropping upwards of $70 million on a mode of transport, it must be impressive in a way that everyone can understand.

The plane’s ability to cruise close to the speed of sound represents the advanced engineering and innovations that go into making the ultimate machine. Private aircraft are already a prestigious purchase, and the speed is really the result of the incredible effort that goes into creating these aircraft. When an aircraft sets speed records, the manufacturer is encouraged to promote it, and then customers promote it further. It essentially becomes a marketing tool.

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