Beechcraft King Air 350

The Beechcraft King Air 350 is the longest member of the King Air family: a stretched King Air 300 with a larger wingspan, winglets and two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-60A engines. In charter you meet the 350, 350i and 350ER, while the King Air 360 and 360ER are in production. According to Textron Aviation the 360 cruises at up to 578 km/h with up to 11 on board, and the executive layout usually has eight seats.

From European hubs the King Air 350 suits:

• six to eight colleagues on a day trip such as Hamburg - Oslo (1:54 h) or Zurich - Split (1:55 h)
• families with a pushchair and beach bags to Palma, Olbia or the Greek islands
• groups who want to reach Tenerife from Madrid or Marrakesh from Nice without a fuel stop

Cabin: two club groups and a toilet at the rear

The cross-section is the same as in the smaller King Airs, 1.45 m high and 1.37 m wide, but the King Air 350 cabin is 5.94 m long according to the manufacturer. The usual layout has two club groups of four seats with tables that fold out from the walls; the seats recline, and in newer interiors they also slide and swivel. Seated there is good headroom and space by the window, but you walk with your head bowed, and there is no bed.

Baggage, payload and pets

In the King Air 350 the compartment sits in the rear of the pressurised cabin, so bags can be reached in flight and do not get cold. It holds more than the baggage space of many light jets.

• Eight people: a medium suitcase and a bag each
• Four or five people: skis, golf bags or a pushchair as well
• Eight golfers each with a golf bag: tell us, so the operator can check the space or suggest a larger aircraft
• The 360ER can have a cargo door, which makes large items easier to load

With full tanks and two pilots the weight is enough for five people with baggage. With eight on board the operator takes less fuel, but according to the figures for the 350i a King Air 350 still has about 2,670 km of range.

Versions, runways and mountain airports

All versions have PT6A-60A engines of 1,050 hp:

Textron's figures apply to the 360 at a take-off weight of 6,804 kg. The operator adds margins, but the King Air 350 still uses airfields where larger jets have restrictions, such as Cannes-Mandelieu with 1,539 m, or Lugano with 1,414 m of runway and a steep approach, which the operator confirms for its aircraft. Mountain airports such as Samedan, at about 1,700 m elevation, require extra crew training.

European rules that apply to this aircraft

An operator from outside the EU, including the UK, cannot normally fly a passenger leg inside one EU country, such as Madrid - Tenerife. Nice and Geneva are slot-coordinated, so on summer weekends and winter Saturdays book early.

King Air 350 routes from European hubs

Thirty-two one-way legs from all thirteen hubs, from Zurich - Lugano at 164 km to Nice - Marrakesh at 1,891 km, all flown by the King Air 350 without a fuel stop. Prices are for the whole aircraft with crew, without airport fees and passenger taxes. Flight time is the great-circle distance plus taxi, climb and approach.

Up to two hours: day trips and the nearer islands

Two to four hours: Spain, Portugal and Greece non-stop

Over four hours: the limit for a turboprop

• Lugano, Samedan, Jersey and Sion: a jet would save at most about 20 minutes, and the turboprop is cheaper per hour
• Paris Le Bourget - Lisbon (3:17 h) and Milan Linate - Malaga (3:22 h): non-stop for the King Air 350 even with eight passengers, but a light jet saves about an hour
• Madrid - Tenerife (3:58 h) and Nice - Marrakesh (4:06 h) are at the edge of the table; with a strong headwind the operator rechecks the fuel
• The Canary Islands or Madeira from central Europe, and the Gulf, need a fuel stop or a jet

The calculator gives an indicative price for the King Air 350 or a turboprop of the same class on your own route.

What a King Air 350 charter costs

The indicative rate is EUR 2,600 per flight hour for the whole aircraft with crew and fuel. On short legs the total is well above the rate multiplied by the time: Munich - Samedan (0:58 h) starts at EUR 7,500, because positioning from the base and a minimum charge are built in.

On longer legs the gap narrows: Nice - Palma (1:37 h) is from EUR 9,500, Frankfurt - Palma (2:53 h) from EUR 12,500 and Madrid - Tenerife (3:58 h) from EUR 15,500. Since the price is for the aircraft, the cost per person falls with eight on board. On legs over three and a half hours a light jet can cost about the same as a King Air 350 and arrive much sooner, so we quote both.

The quote covers the whole aircraft; split between the passengers, Nice - Palma comes to:

How to pay less for the same trip

A departure window of a few hours also helps the operator fit your flight between other bookings. Shared flights are rare on this type, so we do not promise them.

Empty Legs on the King Air 350

Many European operators fly the King Air 350, so empty legs appear from time to time, mostly in summer between the Alps, the Riviera, the Balearics and the Adriatic. They can be 30-60% cheaper than a full charter; these figures are examples, not guaranteed.

Similar aircraft clients compare

Next to the King Air 350, clients usually consider the smaller King Air, the faster Piaggio turboprop and a jet that also uses short runways.

What to include in your request

For a quote we need:

• route, date and departure time, plus the return
• number of passengers and baggage, with skis, golf bags, pushchairs and pets listed separately
• a particular version, layout or an enclosed toilet, if it matters to you

We ask operators holding an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and always try to find an aircraft close to your departure, but each case depends on the operator's schedule and contract. Schengen legs have no passport control, though the operator still needs ID details; EU citizens flying to the UK need an ETA.

Questions about the Beechcraft King Air 350

• • How much does a King Air 350 flight cost?

  • Milan Linate to Olbia (1:28 h) starts at EUR 9,000, Geneva to Ibiza at EUR 11,000 and Zurich to Mykonos at EUR 15,000, for the whole aircraft one way according to the table. The rate starts at EUR 2,600 per flight hour; airport fees and passenger taxes are added.

• • What is in the price and what comes on top?

  • Aircraft, crew and fuel, with positioning and the minimum charge built in. Airport and handling fees, passenger taxes, catering, de-icing and crew hotels on a return after several days come on top, all listed in the quote.

• • How can I make the trip cheaper?

  • Return the same day where the duty time allows, depart from where an operator keeps its aircraft and give a time window. For four people or fewer, a King Air 200 costs less per hour.

• • Are there Empty Legs on the King Air 350?

  • Yes, from time to time, mostly in summer. They can be 30-60% below a full charter as examples, with a fixed date and route and the risk of cancellation if the aircraft gets a full charter.

• • How many people fit in a King Air 350?

  • Usually eight in the executive layout, and Textron gives up to 11 on board. Six to eight people travel comfortably with full baggage.

• • Can eight people fly non-stop to Spain or Greece?

  • Yes. With eight passengers the 350i has about 2,670 km of range, so Hamburg to Palma (1,659 km) and Zurich to Mykonos (1,766 km) are non-stop. With a strong headwind the operator rechecks the figures.

• • Is there a toilet on board?

  • Usually yes, at the rear of the cabin: a private toilet with a door or a seat behind a curtain, and in a King Air 350 flown as an ambulance it may be missing. We confirm it before booking.

• • What is the difference between the 350 and the 360?

  • The same fuselage and engines, but the 360 has autothrottle and digital pressurisation, so the cabin altitude is lower. For you this mainly means a newer interior and less fatigue. In charter you get the version the operator has, and we state it in the offer.

• • Will skis, golf bags and the dog fit?

  • Skis and golf bags fit easily with four or five people in the 2.02 m³ compartment; with eight, keep to suitcases. A dog flies in the cabin once the operator agrees and its EU pet documents are in order.

• • Can it land at Samedan or Courchevel?

  • Samedan, at about 1,700 m elevation with a 1,799 m runway, is in the table from Munich (0:58 h) and London Farnborough (2:17 h), with a crew trained for the mountain approach. The 537 m sloped Courchevel altiport is too short for this type, so ski trips there go to Chambéry.