Being a huge magnet for global air traffic, london has an impressive selection of airports available to private and commercial aircraft. but which airports are the best to use when flying by private jet?

To view the full list of airports in London and the surrounding area click here. This post will focus on the most popular London airports!

Astute Aviation | Private Jet Charter | London Airports

London Heathrow Airport

Well known as one of the busiest airports in the world, London Heathrow may seem like an obvious choice for many private jet passengers. The FBO facilities are high quality, and the airport has excellent transport links for onward journeys. However, its popularity comes at a price! Landing fees at Heathrow are pricey, so the landing fees can potentially double your total charter cost. In addition to this, slots are less readily available due to the large numbers of flights leaving and entering the airport.

London Gatwick Airport

Situated just south of the M25, Gatwick can be a straighforward alternative to Heathrow and is very popular for commercial flights. It does also have similar drawbacks to Heathrow, as the landing fees are almost just as expensive.

Biggin Hill Airport

Biggin Hill is a mere 30 minute drive from London Gatwick, and offers a more suitable alternative for private jet charter flights. It boasts two FBOs (private jet passenger terminals) and is also closer to central London! Landing fees and hangar facilities are far less expensive, so Biggin Hill can offer a more cost-effective solution as a London airport.

London City Airport

London City is naturally a great choice when flying into London due to it being situated just a few miles from Canary Wharf. It comes with some limitations (due to being so close to the city centre!), as a much steeper approach profile is required, meaning that only certain aircraft with suitably trained pilots are able to land here. This limits the number of aircraft we can offer into London City, but this doesn't necessarily need to be a limitation on your trip. London City is incredibly popular for private jet flights, especially for our business clients.

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London Luton Airport

London Luton is one of the most popular UK airports for private jet flights. This is mainly down to it having lower costs than the other private jet orientated airports. London Luton Airport offers great transfer times into central London while being just outside of the premium zone, meaning airport landing and handling fees are lower than the likes of London City or Farnborough Airport.

Farnborough Airport

Farnborough is the UK's only fully dedicated private jet airport - so no commercial flights arrive or depart from here at all. It is the airport of choice for most private jet customers in the south of England, due to its exclusivity, privacy and proximity to London as it's just a short trip down the M3. Although landing and handling fees can be a little higher than the likes of Luton, Farnborough still offers a cheaper alternative to Gatwick and Heathrow with the added bonus of the exclusive and highest quality passenger facilities.

As mentioned, this is not an exhaustive list of airports available to private jet charter clients in the London area. When requesting a quote with us, we are able to recommend the most suitable airport for your needs and location. Whatever your reason for flying, we would love to help you organise your trip. Get in touch with one of our private jet charter experts and let us tailor a schedule to suit you +44(0) 203 880 9005.

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Business Jets or Business class, similar in some ways, very different in others. We took a look into the benefits of using a business jet over business class.

business class | private jet | jet hire |

Time

A huge factor for anyone who travels regularly for business purposes! Business class is a pleasant experience, with many commercial airports offering separate security queues and lounges for these customers. However, this doesn't automatically reduce your total time spent travelling. With a business jet, you're able to arrive up to just 15 minutes before your scheduled departure time, with the option to arrive sooner and enjoy lounge facilities if you wish. We are also able to provide for most catering requests and include this in the charter price, meaning employees can eat anything whilst in the air. A small touch maybe, but reducing the number of things to do on the ground can really help reduce the overall duration of the journey.

Private jets also have generally shorter flight times than commercial aircraft, due to the fact that we fly higher and have more direct routings in to the arrival airport. We thought a side by side comparison of the time taken by a business jet charter versus a commercial trip would give a better insight, so you can see a breakdown and just how much time you could potentially win back. We have based this on one of our more common business routes - London (office situated in Canary Wharf) to Dublin City Centre for a meeting at 11am. This is a common occurrence due to the large number of tech companies based in Dublin.

Private Jet

LEAVE OFFICE: 9.00

ARRIVE DEPARTURE AIRPORT (LONDON CITY): 9.11

DEPART LONDON CITY: 9.25

LAND DUBLIN AIRPORT: 10.24

CLEAR SECURITY AND LEAVE AIRPORT: 10.25

ARRIVE DUBLIN CITY CENTRE: 10.55

MEETING: 11.00 -12.00

ARRIVE DUBLIN AIRPORT: 12.30

DEPART DUBLIN AIRPORT: 12.45

LAND LONDON CITY: 13.44

CLEAR SECURITY: 13.45

BACK IN OFFICE: 13.57

TOTAL TIME OUT OF OFFICE: 4 hours 57 minutes

Commercial flight

LEAVE HOME (AVERAGE COMMUTE 1 HOUR): 03.45

ARRIVE DEPARTURE AIRPORT (LONDON HEATHROW): 04.45

DEPART LONDON HEATHROW: 06.45

LAND DUBLIN AIRPORT: 08.10

CLEAR SECURITY AND LEAVE AIRPORT: 09.00

ARRIVE DUBLIN CITY CENTRE: 09.30

MEETING: 11.00 - 12.00

ARRIVE DUBLIN AIRPORT: 12.30

DEPART DUBLIN AIRPORT: 15.20

LAND LONDON HEATHROW: 16.45

CLEAR SECURITY AND LEAVE AIRPORT: 17.30

RETURN HOME/OFFICE: 18.30

TOTAL TIME OUT OF OFFICE: 14 hours 45 minutes

Immediately you can see that flying commercially can cost you more than an entire working day, whereas a business jet charter allows your employees to start their day at the usual time, and still be back in the office for the afternoon. Not only this, but flying commercially limits you to flying at the times of the airline, which can leave large chunks of wasted time in between flights and meetings. The commercial flight is also best case scenario, and you have no control over any delays which may cause you to miss crucial meetings or lengthen the trip even further.

Convenience

Although time spent at the airport plays a part in this, chartering a private jet for business also gives you many more options. Being much smaller than commercial aircraft, private jets are able to fly into smaller airports that may be much closer to your final destination and therefore reducing your transfer time. When flying with a commercial airline you are limited to their schedule, but if you charter your own jet you have full control over when you travel. Business jet hire can be fully worked around your needs, and there is even potential to have facilities for employees to sleep on a flight back from a business trip, allowing them to be ready to get back to work the next day - potentially removing the need for an overnight stay. Private jet cabins are also pressurised to an altitude usually around 2000ft lower than those of commercial aircraft, this greatly reduces the impact on the human body that flying can have, such as fatigue and dehydration, allowing you to be working at full capacity sooner after landing.

Productivity

A business jet is all yours for the duration of your flight, and other passengers looking over your shoulder is one thing you shouldn't have to worry about. The aircraft can essentially become a flying boardroom so that business can go on as usual with minimal disruption. Wifi is now available on many private jets (read more about it here), so you don't even need to disconnect from your colleagues whilst you fly. We understand how important it is to maximise the productivity of employees, or even make the most of a contractors hourly rate, so from booking to post flight feedback, we ensure that the process is smooth and requires minimal time input from Personal Assistants or travel bookers, compounding the benefit of charter.

Cost

Buying a business class ticket for just one person may work out cheaper than chartering an entire jet, but there are definitely circumstances where charter is the more cost effective option. This may be if you need to send several employees on the same trip, and chartering one plane could well be cheaper than buying multiple business class tickets for a flight. And as previously mentioned, a private jet is usually able to fly much closer to your destination, reducing the cost of transfer time after the flight. Empty legs may also be an option, we will always see if there are any aircraft heading to, or from your destination around when you need to travel, as these aircraft can be priced up to 75% off the usual charter price.