Business aviation 101

A plain guide for anyone who has just joined the industry: what it is, how a flight happens, who does what, the aircraft it flies and the words people use.

What business aviation is

The short version, before the roles, the aircraft and the words.

Business aviation is flying on demand: an aircraft owned, shared or hired for the trip, leaving when the passengers choose, between the airports they choose.

Airlines sell seats on a published timetable, from their own network of airports. General aviation is the rest of civil flying, from flight schools to private pilots. Business aviation sits between the 2: often counted as part of general aviation, it flies as professionally as an airline.

The people on board are company teams and their managers, families and private individuals, governments, sports teams and patients on medical flights. Aircraft also carry spare parts, organs for transplant and urgent freight.

They fly this way to save time, with no connections and a walk of minutes through a private terminal; to reach airports the airlines do not serve; and to talk and work in private.

There are 4 ways in: own an aircraft, buy a share of one (fractional ownership), prepay a block of hours (a jet card), or charter an aircraft for each trip.

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How a flight happens

A charter flight from the first call to the landing, and who does what on the way. A company's own aircraft follows the same steps without the broker and the quote.

The request

The client, or an assistant, calls a broker or an operator with the trip: the airports, the dates, how many passengers, the bags, and anything special such as a pet or a wheelchair.
The quote

The broker asks several operators which aircraft are free nearby. Each operator checks the aircraft, the crew's duty hours and the airports, then prices the trip, positioning included. A simple trip is often quoted within hours.
The contract

The client picks an aircraft and signs a charter agreement with the operator, or with the broker acting for the client. Payment usually comes before the flight. The operator names the aircraft by its registration.
The planning

The operator's operations desk plans the route and the fuel, books slots and permits, and orders handling at both ends, often through a trip support company. It sends the passenger list to the FBOs, orders the catering and arranges the crew's hotel and transport.
Behind the scenes

The aircraft may fly only if its maintenance is up to date: the CAMO tracks what is due, and the MRO does the work. The crew must be rested, trained and current on the type.
The day of the flight

The crew report about an hour before departure, check the weather and the aircraft, and brief. The handler loads the bags, the fuel supplier fuels it and the caterer brings the food. The passengers arrive at the FBO minutes before departure; outside the Schengen area they pass passport control there.
The flight

The captain is in charge of the flight and has the last word on safety. On larger aircraft a cabin crew member looks after the passengers.
The landing

At the other end the FBO or handler meets the aircraft, with a car at the steps if the airport allows it. The aircraft then waits for the return, flies to its next trip or flies home empty, which is where empty legs come from.
The bills

The client pays the operator, or the broker, who pays the operator and keeps a commission. The FBO, the handler, the fuel supplier, the caterer and the airport send their invoices to the operator, often through the trip support company.

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Who is who

The companies a business flight depends on, what each one does and who it works with.

Operator (AOC holder)

A company that holds an air operator certificate and sells flights on the aircraft it runs. It employs the crews, plans the flights and carries the legal responsibility for each one. It buys handling, fuel, maintenance and trip support, and sells to brokers and straight to passengers. Many operators fly aircraft they do not own, on behalf of their owners.

Operators in the directory

Charter broker

Finds the right aircraft for a client's trip and books it with an operator. A broker flies nothing itself: it compares quotes, negotiates and looks after the client from the first call to the landing. It earns a commission or a margin on the price. Some brokers also sell jet cards or block hours bought from operators.

Charter brokers in the directory

Aircraft broker (sales and acquisitions)

Helps an owner sell an aircraft, or a buyer find one. It values the aircraft, markets it, arranges the pre-purchase inspection and steers the deal to closing, alongside lawyers, lenders and escrow agents. It is usually paid a commission on the sale price.

Aircraft brokers in the directory

Aircraft management company

Runs an aircraft for its owner: crew, maintenance, insurance, hangar, budget and paperwork. The owner pays a monthly fee and the costs. Many managers also hold an AOC, so the aircraft can fly charter when the owner does not need it and earn back part of its cost. The difference: the manager looks after the aircraft, the operator is responsible for each flight.

FBO

Fixed base operator: the private terminal at an airport, with a lounge for passengers, a room for crews and, usually, fuel, parking and hangar space. Passengers walk through it in minutes instead of queuing in the main terminal. Crews book it before the flight, and the FBO charges the operator for its services.

FBOs and handlers in the directory

FBO chains and independents

Some FBO companies run networks of 10s or 100s of terminals across several countries, with one standard, one contract and one account. Independents run 1 or a few terminals and compete on local knowledge and personal service. At many smaller airports the independent is the only one.

Ground handler

Looks after the aircraft on the ramp: marshalling, towing, ground power, bags, cleaning, water and toilet service, de-icing. At many airports the FBO is also the handler; at others the handler works without a terminal of its own. It also helps crews with the airport's paperwork and fees.

MRO

Maintenance, repair and overhaul: the hangars and engineers that inspect, repair and modify aircraft, engines and parts. The work runs from an overnight check to a heavy inspection that keeps an aircraft in the hangar for weeks. Line maintenance happens at the airport between flights; base maintenance happens in the hangar.

Maintenance companies in the directory

CAMO

Continuing airworthiness management organisation: plans which maintenance is due and when, keeps the records, tracks airworthiness directives and service bulletins, and may carry out the airworthiness review. The CAMO says what has to be done; the MRO does it. Many operators have their own; smaller ones buy the service.

CAMO providers in the directory

Parts and components supplier

Sells, lends and exchanges the spare parts an aircraft needs, from a tyre to an engine. When an aircraft is grounded, its AOG desk finds the part and ships it, often the same day, with its release paper.

Parts suppliers in the directory

Trip support and flight planning

Arranges what a flight needs besides the aircraft and the crew: flight plans, overflight and landing permits, slots, handling, fuel, hotels and crew transport. Operators lean on them most for unfamiliar regions and trips at short notice. Many also pay the local suppliers and send the operator 1 invoice.

Trip support companies in the directory

Fuel supplier

Sells jet fuel, delivered into the aircraft's tanks at the airport. Some own the supply at the airport; many are resellers with contracts at airports worldwide, offering 1 account, 1 fuel card and, more and more, sustainable aviation fuel. The price is per litre or per US gallon, plus the airport's fees and taxes.

Fuel suppliers in the directory

Inflight caterer

Prepares food and drink for business aircraft, to order and often at a few hours' notice, and brings it to the aircraft. The crew orders to the passengers' taste; the caterer works around allergies, a small galley and early departures.

Caterers in the directory

OEM

Original equipment manufacturer: the company that builds the aircraft, the engines or the avionics. OEMs also run service centres, sell parts and support programmes, and write the maintenance programme owners follow. A new business jet is often ordered a year or more before it is delivered.

Manufacturers in the directory

Finance and leasing

Banks and specialist lenders lend against the aircraft itself, usually for part of its value, after an independent valuation. Leasing companies own aircraft and rent them out, for a few years or with an option to buy at the end. What the aircraft will be worth later, its residual value, drives the price of both.

Insurance

Every aircraft carries hull insurance for damage to the aircraft and liability insurance for harm to people and property; war and terrorism are covered separately. Specialist insurance brokers place the cover with insurers and help when there is a claim. A lender or lessor is named on the policy.

Insurance companies in the directory

Training provider

Trains pilots, cabin crew and engineers: type ratings and recurrent checks in full flight simulators, cabin safety, dangerous goods, crew resource management and engineering courses. Pilots and cabin crew go back at least once a year.

Training providers in the directory

Flight department (corporate)

A company's own aviation team, flying the company's aircraft for its own people and not for hire. It employs its own crews or hands the work to a management company. In Europe it usually flies under Part-NCC, the rules for private flights, rather than an AOC.

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The aircraft

The classes people talk about, from the smallest jet to the airliner. The numbers are typical: a real flight depends on the passengers, the fuel, the winds and the reserves.

Range is the distance an aircraft flies without a stop, in nautical miles (nm, 1.852 km), usually with a few passengers and the fuel reserves the rules ask for. A full cabin, a headwind or a short runway cuts it.

As a guide: London to Geneva is about 400 nm, London to Moscow about 1,350 nm, London to New York and London to Dubai each about 3,000 nm, London to Singapore about 5,900 nm and New York to Hong Kong about 7,000 nm.

Within a maker's family, a higher number usually means a bigger cabin or a longer range (Gulfstream G500, G600, G700, G800), and a new generation of the same model adds a letter or a word (Phenom 300E, CJ4 Gen2, PC-12 NGX).

Very light and light jets

The entry to jet travel: short city pairs, often from small airports, with a cabin you sit in rather than stand in. Many are flown by a single pilot, some by their owners.

Passengers: About 4 to 8
Range: About 1,100 to 2,200 nm, about 3 to 5 hours
For example: Embraer Phenom 100EV and 300E, Cessna Citation M2 Gen2 and CJ4 Gen2, HondaJet Elite II

Midsize jets

More room and range than a light jet, still at a modest hourly cost. Enough for most trips inside Europe without a stop, and the workhorse of many charter fleets.

Passengers: About 7 to 9
Range: About 2,000 to 3,300 nm, about 4 to 7 hours
For example: Cessna Citation XLS Gen2 and Latitude, Embraer Praetor 500; no longer built: Learjet 75, Hawker 800XP

Super-midsize jets

A stand-up cabin with a flat floor, and the range to fly from Western Europe to the Middle East, or London to New York, without a stop.

Passengers: About 8 to 10
Range: About 3,200 to 4,000 nm, about 7 to 9 hours
For example: Bombardier Challenger 3500, Cessna Citation Longitude, Gulfstream G280, Embraer Praetor 600

Large-cabin jets

A wide cabin in separate areas, a proper galley and room to sleep. Europe to the east coast of the United States with a full cabin, or to India, without a stop.

Passengers: About 10 to 16
Range: About 4,000 to 5,500 nm, about 8 to 12 hours
For example: Bombardier Challenger 650, Dassault Falcon 2000LXS and 6X, Gulfstream G500

Ultra-long-range jets

The largest purpose-built business jets: city pairs such as London to Singapore or New York to Hong Kong without a stop, with a bedroom and a crew rest area.

Passengers: About 12 to 19
Range: About 6,400 to 8,000 nm, up to about 17 hours
For example: Gulfstream G600, G700 and G800, Bombardier Global 6500, 7500 and 8000, Dassault Falcon 8X

Business airliners

Airliners fitted with a private cabin: bedrooms, offices and dining areas. Used by heads of state, large groups and sports teams.

Passengers: About 18 to 50, often fewer with bedrooms
Range: About 5,600 to 6,800 nm, up to about 15 hours
For example: Airbus ACJ319neo, ACJ320neo and ACJ TwoTwenty, Boeing BBJ 737 MAX

Turboprops

Propeller aircraft with a turbine engine. Slower than a jet, cheaper to run, and happy on short or unpaved runways that jets cannot use. Popular for regional trips and islands.

Passengers: About 4 to 9
Range: About 1,500 to 1,800 nm, up to about 6 hours
For example: Pilatus PC-12 NGX, Beechcraft King Air 360, Daher TBM 960, Piaggio Avanti EVO

Helicopters

Door to door where no runway reaches: city centre to airport, a yacht, a ski resort, an offshore platform. Also flown for emergency medical services.

Passengers: About 4 to 12
Range: About 300 to 550 nm, about 2 to 4 hours
For example: Airbus H125, H145 and H160, Leonardo AW109 Trekker, AW169 and AW139, Bell 429

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The market in numbers

A few round figures to place the industry, each with its year and who counted it.

About 25,000 business jets: More than 24,000 in service worldwide in early 2025, by the counts of the market data firms. Nearly 2 in 3 are based in the United States.
About 3,500 in Europe: Business jets based in Europe in 2025, about 1 in 7 of the world's fleet, by the same counts.
About 850 new jets a year: 854 new business jets and 594 business turboprops were delivered worldwide in 2025, by the manufacturers' association GAMA.
About 7% of flights: Business aviation's share of all flights in European airspace in 2024, by Eurocontrol, with about 10% more flights than in 2019.
About 1,500 airports: European airports business aviation reaches, about 1,000 of them with no airline service, by the figures the European association EBAA gave in 2025.
About 2% of aviation's CO2: Business aviation's share of aviation's carbon emissions, or about 0.04% of the world's, the figure the industry's associations still cite in 2025. They have committed to net zero by 2050, counting mainly on sustainable aviation fuel.

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Where the industry meets

The associations that speak for business aviation, and the shows where it gathers.

EBAA

The European Business Aviation Association, in Brussels: speaks for operators and companies to the European Union and its agencies.

NBAA

The National Business Aviation Association, in Washington: the largest association, for the United States.

IBAC

The International Business Aviation Council, in Montreal: the industry's voice at ICAO, and the owner of the IS-BAO safety standard.

GAMA

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association: the aircraft and engine makers, and the source of the yearly delivery figures.

National associations

Most European countries have their own business aviation association, working with the national authority and airports and usually a member of EBAA.

Associations in the directory

NBAA-BACE

NBAA's convention and exhibition, each October, in recent years in Las Vegas: the largest business aviation show in the world, with an aircraft display at a nearby airport.

EBACE

EBAA's European show, held in Geneva for many years each spring. The 2026 edition was cancelled; EBAA has not ruled out later ones.

AERO Friedrichshafen

The large general aviation fair on Lake Constance in Germany, each April, with its own business aviation section.

MEBAA Show

The Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association's show, in Dubai, in December.

ABACE

The Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition, in Shanghai, in the spring.

LABACE

The Latin American Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition, at Campo de Marte airport in São Paulo, usually in August.

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Careers

The main jobs, and how people usually get into them in Europe.

Pilot

Trains at a flight school for a commercial licence, builds hours, often as an instructor or on smaller aircraft, then earns a type rating for a business jet. Many start as first officers and become captains; some fly freelance through crew agencies.

Crew agencies in the directory

Cabin crew

Earns the cabin crew attestation that commercial flights in Europe require, often after airline experience, and adds business aviation's own training: service, food and wine, first aid, security. Discretion and languages count as much as the certificate.

Dispatcher and operations

Plans and follows the flights, the crews, the slots and the permits on an operator's operations desk or at a trip support company. Most start as assistants and learn on the job, some after a dispatch course.

Charter sales

Quotes and sells flights at a broker or an operator. People come from sales, travel, hotels or airlines and learn the aircraft and the prices on the job; the client book matters more than a licence.

Maintenance engineer

Trains at an approved maintenance school, works under supervision in a maintenance organisation, and earns a Part-66 licence, then type ratings, to sign aircraft back into service.

Airworthiness and CAMO

Plans maintenance and keeps the records at a CAMO. Many come from maintenance or an engineering degree.

Aircraft and account management

Runs the owners' aircraft and budgets at a management company, or looks after its clients. Most come from operations, sales or a flight department.

FBO and handling

Welcomes passengers and crews, and works the ramp. The usual first job in the industry, open to people from hotels and customer service, and a start for many later careers.

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The vocabulary

74 words you will hear in the first weeks, from A to Z. Plain definitions, written by people who use them.

ACMI: Aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance: a lease where one operator flies its aircraft for another, usually for a season or a peak. A form of wet lease.
AD: Airworthiness directive: a mandatory instruction from the authority to inspect, change or limit something, with a compliance time you cannot negotiate.
Air ambulance: An aircraft fitted to carry patients with a medical crew, often a business jet or a helicopter with a stretcher and medical equipment.
Anti-icing: The second spray, thick green Type IV fluid, put on after de-icing to hold ice off while you taxi and queue. Its holdover time is what the crew counts down.
AOC: Air operator certificate, the licence that lets a company sell flights rather than only fly its own aircraft. Each state issues its own, so an operator holds a German AOC or a UK AOC. There is no European one.
AOG: Aircraft on ground: the aircraft cannot fly until something is fixed, and everybody's day now revolves around that.
APU: Auxiliary power unit: a small engine, usually in the tail, that gives electricity and air conditioning on the ground without running the main engines.
ARC: Airworthiness review certificate, the yearly paper that says the aircraft and its records still agree with each other.
ATC: Air traffic control: the controllers who clear an aircraft to start, take off, follow its route and land.
ATPL: Airline transport pilot licence, the highest pilot licence. Captains of business jets usually hold it.
Avionics: The aircraft's electronic systems: radios, navigation, displays and the autopilot.
Block time: The time from the moment the aircraft leaves its parking position to the moment it stops at the other end, chocks off to chocks on. Charter is often priced on it.
Book and claim: Paying for sustainable aviation fuel that goes into aircraft somewhere else, and claiming its emissions cut, when none is on sale at your own airport.
CAMO: Continuing airworthiness management organisation: the office that owns the maintenance programme, the records and, where it holds the privilege, the airworthiness review.
Crew duty time: How long a crew may be on duty, and the rest it must have afterwards, under the flight time limitation rules. When the duty runs out, the flight waits for a fresh crew.
De-icing: Taking the ice and snow off the aircraft, usually with hot Type I fluid. Charged per movement and per litre. Type I has a short holdover time, which is why Type IV follows it.
Dispatch: The desk that plans the route, the fuel, the permits and the handling, and rebuilds the day when it breaks.
Dry lease and wet lease: A dry lease hands over the aircraft alone, and the lessee flies it with its own crew under its own AOC. A wet lease comes with crew, maintenance and insurance, and the lessor stays the operator.
EASA: The European Union Aviation Safety Agency, in Cologne. It prepares the common safety rules for the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland and certifies aircraft types; each national authority oversees its own operators.
Empty leg: A flight with no passengers, usually an aircraft repositioning to its next job, sold cheaply because it is flying anyway.
Engine programme: A contract that covers an engine's maintenance and overhauls for a fixed price per flight hour. It adds to the aircraft's value when it is sold.
ETS: The European emissions trading scheme. You count the flights, report the carbon and buy allowances to cover it.
FBO: Fixed base operator, the private terminal where crews and passengers arrive, park, wait and leave.
Ferry flight: A flight with no passengers to take an aircraft to maintenance, to a buyer or to a new base, sometimes under a special permit when it is not fully airworthy.
Flight level: Altitude in 100s of feet, measured on standard pressure: FL410 is 41,000 feet.
Form 1: The release paper that travels with a component and says who overhauled it, to what standard and when. No Form 1, no fitting it: the part is a box on a shelf until the paper turns up.
Fractional ownership: Buying a share of an aircraft, such as a quarter, which gives a set number of hours a year on a fleet of the same type, run by the programme's operator.
Galley: The aircraft's kitchen: small, with ovens and a fridge, and no open flame.
GenDec: General declaration: the list of crew and passengers on a flight, handed to customs and immigration.
GPU: Ground power unit, the trolley that feeds the aircraft electricity on the stand so the engines and the auxiliary power unit can stay off.
Handler: The company on the ramp that marshals the aircraft, moves the bags, brings the fuel and finds the taxi.
Hangarage: Keeping an aircraft in a hangar, and the fee for it.
Hull and liability insurance: Hull insurance covers damage to the aircraft itself; liability insurance covers harm to people and property.
ICAO code: The 4-letter code of an airport, such as EGLF for Farnborough or LSGG for Geneva. Crews and dispatchers use it; passengers usually know the 3-letter IATA code.
IS-BAO: A voluntary safety standard for operators, audited by outsiders, that many charter buyers now ask to see.
Jet A-1: The kerosene jet fuel used at almost every airport outside North America, where Jet A is common.
Jet card: A block of flight hours bought in advance at a fixed hourly rate, so the client books a flight without asking for a quote each time.
Knot: 1 nautical mile an hour, the unit of speed in aviation. A light jet cruises at about 400 knots.
Landing fee: What the airport charges for each landing, usually by the aircraft's weight.
Landing permit: Permission from a state to land there, needed for many non-scheduled flights, mostly outside Europe. Some come in hours, some take days.
Leg: 1 flight, from take-off to landing. A trip is made of legs.
MEL: Minimum equipment list: what is allowed to be broken, for how long, and what you have to do about it before you fly.
MRO: Maintenance, repair and overhaul: the work of keeping aircraft flying, and the name for a company that does it.
MTOW: Maximum take-off weight: the heaviest the aircraft may be at take-off. Many fees are priced by it.
Nautical mile: 1,852 metres, the unit of distance and range in aviation, written nm.
NBAA and EBAA: The National Business Aviation Association in the United States and the European Business Aviation Association. Both speak for the industry to governments, and each runs a show of its own.
NOTAM: Notice to air missions: a published notice of a change, such as a closed runway, that crews read before each flight.
One-way charter: A charter from A to B only. The price usually includes bringing the aircraft back.
Operating lease and finance lease: An operating lease rents an aircraft for a few years and hands it back; a finance lease pays for it over time, with ownership at the end.
Overflight permit: Permission to cross a state's airspace without landing. Most of Europe needs none; parts of Africa, Asia and South America do.
Part-145: The approval a maintenance organisation holds to work on an aircraft and sign it back into service.
Part-CAT: The European rules for commercial air transport: flights sold to paying passengers, flown under an AOC.
Part-NCC: The European rulebook for private flying in complex aircraft. An owner declares under it rather than applying for it.
Part-SPO: The European rules for specialised operations, such as aerial filming, survey or parachute flights, where the aircraft does a job rather than carry passengers.
Pax: Passengers, in writing: 6 pax.
Positioning flight: A flight with no passengers to bring the aircraft to where the next trip starts, or home after it ends. Also called repositioning. The client of a one-way charter usually pays for it, which is where empty legs come from.
PPI: Pre-purchase inspection: the detailed check of an aircraft and its records before a sale closes, at a maintenance shop the buyer chooses.
PPR: Prior permission required: an airport that will not accept you until somebody there has said yes, usually by email.
Quote: The price an operator or a broker gives for a trip, with the aircraft, the schedule, what is included and how long the price holds.
Ramp: The apron: where aircraft park, fuel, load and board. Ramp agents, ramp fees and ramp inspections all happen here.
Recurrent training: The training and checks crews repeat at set intervals, in a simulator for pilots, to keep their licence and type current.
Release to service: The signature from a licensed engineer that says the work is finished and the aircraft may fly.
Residual value: What an aircraft is expected to be worth at the end of a loan or a lease.
RVSM: Reduced vertical separation minimum: the airspace between 29,000 and 41,000 feet where aircraft fly 1,000 feet apart, open only to aircraft and crews approved for it.
SAF: Sustainable aviation fuel: jet fuel made from waste oils, residues or synthetic sources, blended with fossil fuel up to 50% and used in the same aircraft. It cuts emissions over its life, costs more and brings paperwork of its own.
SB: Service bulletin: work the manufacturer recommends. It stays optional until an airworthiness directive makes it mandatory, which is often what happens.
Schengen area: The 29 European countries with no passport checks between them. A flight in or out of the area needs passport control, which the FBO or the handler arranges.
Slot: A time window an airport or air traffic control gives you to arrive or depart. You keep it or you queue for another.
Tail number: The aircraft's registration, painted on its side. The first letters say where it is registered: D- for Germany, OE- for Austria, 9H- for Malta.
TBO: Time between overhauls: how many hours or years an engine or a part may run before it must be overhauled.
Tech stop: A short landing to take fuel, change crew or fix something, with nobody getting off.
Turnaround: The time on the ground between landing and the next departure: unloading, cleaning, catering, fuel and boarding. A quick one takes under an hour.
Type rating: The qualification a pilot needs for each type of jet and most larger aircraft, earned in a simulator course and a check.
Whole aircraft charter: Hiring the entire aircraft for a trip, rather than buying a seat on it. Most business aviation charter works this way.

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