Which Big Jet Should I Buy?

The main contenders in this space are the Gulfstream G650, the Bombardier Global 6000 and the Dassault Falcon 8X.

When comparing aircraft many people focus on the acquisition and operating costs. When you are in the league of buying one of the jets mentioned above your priorities should be others. If you are spending $60M on a biz jet and you’re going to fly 300 hours a year it is not going to be cheap…

When talking to a potential client and advising them on the best jet for their type of operation I need to understand the “Why” behind the acquisition. For most the biz jet is a time saving tool, for others cabin space is important. For others, operating in and out of shorter runways, performance will be paramount.

Speed, range, runway performance, payload and cabin space is what you need to look at.

Cabin Size

The Gulfstream G650 offers the largest cabin, with 2421 CuFt, compared to 2002 Cuft in the Global 6000 and 1695 Cuft of the Falcon 8X. Having the largest cabin, the G650 carries 18 pax, while the Global 6000 13 and the Falcon 8X 12.

Range

The G650 has the most range and the Extended range (ER) version has an extra 500NM.

G650                         7000NM            G650ER    7500NM

Falcon 8X         6450NM

Global 6000     6390NM

Speed

The G650 is also the fastest of the three jets with a 502 knots cruising speed, with the Global 6000 coming in second at 489 knots followed by the Falcon 8X at 474 knots. To put these speeds into perspective, let’s say you are flying from London to Los Angeles. The main biz jet airports in these two cities are London Farnborough (FAB) and Los Angeles Van Nuys (VNY). The distance between these two airports is 4929 NM.

Falcon 8X                  FAB-VNY: 10hrs 14 mins

Global 6000     FAB-VNY: 09hrs 56 mins

G650                          FAB-VNY: 09hrs 40 mins

As you can see on an average 10 hour flight, there is a 34 minute difference between the fastest and slowest.

Runway Performance

This is where the Falcon 8X comes in on top. Figures below are all at Maximum Take-off and landing weights.

Falcon 8X         Take-off: 1829m        Landing: 656m

Global 6000     Take-off: 1974m        Landing: 682m

G650                          Take-off: 1786m        Landing: 1270m

So if you need a larger cabin, the Gulfstream G650 is your choice, however many owners I have spoken to complain about the noisy cabin. If you are hopping into shorter runways, then the Falcon 8X is your best bet and also the third engine helps with long routings over large stretches of water (like Pacific Ocean). The Global 6000 kind of sits in between. Sometimes the aircraft choice is also up to what you like the most, all three of these aircraft perform well, are safe and do the job.

Fabrizio Poli is an independant aviation consultant specialized in aircraft sales. He is also an accomplished Airline Transport Pilot having flown both private Jets and for the airlines. Fabrizio is also a bestselling author and inspirational speaker & has been featured on Russia Today (RT), TRT World, Social Media Examiner, Bloomberg, Channel 5, Chicago Tribune, Daily Telegraph, City Wealth Magazine, Billionaire.com, Wealth X, Financial Times, El Financiero and many other Media offering insight on the aviation world. Fabrizio is also regularly featured as an Aviation Analyst on Russia Today (RT) and TRT World. Fabrizio is also aviation special correspondent for luxury magazine, Most Fabullous Magazine. Fabrizio is also considered one of the world's top 30 experts in using Linkedin for business. You can tune in weekly to Fabrizio's business Podcast Living Outside the Cube available both in video & audio. You can also follow Fabrizio's aviation videos on Biz Jet TV . Fabrizio's latest book "Health4Flyers", the first natural-health book for pilots, flights attendants and frequent flyers is now available worldwide.