Private jet to Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States in the north-east Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands. The island is about 160 km long and 55 km wide, has some 3.2 million inhabitants, uses the US dollar, and Spanish and English are both in daily use. For a private flight from Europe it counts as an arrival in the United States: the same border check as in Miami or New York, carried out by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the business aviation terminal at San Juan.

Clients fly here for winter sun between December and April, golf at Dorado and Rio Grande, the old town of San Juan, the rainforest of El Yunque and the surf coast around Rincón. Long-range jets cross the Atlantic without a stop, heavy jets refuel once, usually in the Azores. Four airports in Puerto Rico take international private arrivals, and San Juan handles most of them.

Tell us the dates, the number of passengers and where on the island you are staying, and we come back with aircraft, routing and prices.

Why charter a jet to the island

Flight times across the Atlantic

Non-stop in a Falcon 7X, San Juan is 8:12 h from London Farnborough, 8:26 h from Paris Le Bourget, 8:39 h from Amsterdam, 8:45 h from Geneva, 8:57 h from Frankfurt and Zurich, 9:14 h from Munich and 9:38 h from Vienna. From Lisbon a Praetor 600 needs 7:52 h, and from Tenerife or Madeira 6:55 h without a stop.

A Challenger 650 lands once for fuel, normally at Santa Maria or Lajes in the Azores, which lie close to the direct track; the stop takes about an hour on the ground. Westbound flights face the usual headwind, while the return to Europe is quicker with the jet stream behind. After nine hours in the air the crew must rest, so a same-week return with the same aircraft either waits on the island or brings a second crew.

What a charter to Puerto Rico costs

Prices are for the whole aircraft, one way, from an aircraft based near the departure airport, plus handling, US fees, taxes and, for one-stop flights, the costs of the fuel stop. The flight time shown is that of the first aircraft in the row.

From the European hubs

The table shows the non-stop flight time of the Falcon 7X. A Challenger 650 with one stop starts at EUR 86,000 from Madrid or Dublin and EUR 89,000 from London; non-stop, the Falcon 7X costs EUR 100,000 from London and EUR 110,000 from Geneva, Zurich or Frankfurt. Aguadilla and Ponce cost about the same as San Juan, but only make sense when customs is confirmed for the arrival time.

From Portugal and the Atlantic islands

From the Iberian west coast and the Canaries the crossing is short enough for a super midsize jet without a stop: EUR 47,000 in a Praetor 600 from Tenerife or Madeira and EUR 53,000 from Lisbon. Travellers from elsewhere in Europe sometimes take an airline to Lisbon or the Canaries and board the jet there.

From Florida, New York and the Caribbean

Flights from Miami and New York are domestic US flights and are flown by a US operator, from EUR 14,500 out of Miami in a Citation CJ3. The other rows are international: arrivals from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, Sint Maarten or Antigua clear CBP in San Juan, or at Isla Grande within its customs hours.

Taxes on a flight to Puerto Rico depend on where it starts. The French solidarity tax is charged per passenger and rises with distance: a transatlantic departure pays about EUR 2,100 on a jet, a flight within Europe about EUR 420. Italy charges EUR 200 per passenger at this distance; Austria EUR 12. In the UK, aircraft under 5.7 t pay no Air Passenger Duty, jets of 20 t or more with fewer than 19 seats pay the higher private-jet rate and the rest the standard rate of their distance band. Germany, Norway and the Netherlands (aircraft from 5.7 t) add their own departure taxes, and the US inspection fees and taxes on international flights come on top. Every item is listed in the quote.

Business jet price per flight hour

Heavy Jets from EUR 8,300 / hour

Light Jets from EUR 3,200 / hour

Ultra Long Range Jets from EUR 12,000 / hour

Super Midsize Jets from EUR 6,300 / hour

Very Light Jets from EUR 2,500 / hour

Long Range Jets from EUR 9,800 / hour

Midsize Jets from EUR 4,500 / hour

Turboprops from EUR 2,000 / hour

Three trips with the numbers

Per passenger

A jet is chartered as a whole, so the cost per seat falls with every passenger who joins.

Calculator

Enter the route and the number of passengers, and the estimate arrives by e-mail:

Airports and private terminals on the island

Ceiba on the east coast of Puerto Rico, the former Roosevelt Roads base, is closest to Fajardo, El Yunque and the ferries to Vieques and Culebra. Vieques has a strip of about 1,310 m and Culebra one of under 800 m: both are reached by turboprop or air taxi from San Juan, about 30 minutes to Vieques. Mayagüez in the west has about 1,520 m for light jets, while larger aircraft use Aguadilla, some 30 km to the north.

Which aircraft for the crossing

Golf bags fit easily in the hold of a heavy or long-range jet; surfboards are announced with the booking, because their length decides which aircraft can take them. More models are in the ultra long range and heavy jets catalogue.

Leave your number and a consultant will call you back:

From the airport to the resorts

A helicopter landing at a villa, a golf course or a hotel pad needs the owner's permission in advance, and in high season the helicopter is booked together with the jet.

The year month by month

In Puerto Rico, December to April is the dry high season, with winter temperatures of about 21-27 °C, and Christmas runs well into January. The Atlantic hurricane season lasts from June to November, with most storms from August to October, when hotel prices are lowest. Empty Legs are most frequent in December and early January, when long-range jets bring families out and fly home empty, and in April, when aircraft that wintered in the Caribbean return to Europe or Florida.

Empty Legs to and from San Juan

Send the direction and a window of a few days to empty-legs@jets.flights; legs to and from Puerto Rico depend on the original booking and can change at short notice.

Entry, customs and US flight rules

Flights between two airports in Puerto Rico, to the US Virgin Islands or to the US mainland are domestic: a foreign aircraft may fly them only with the passengers it brought from abroad or is taking abroad, each leg with a permit to proceed, and for anyone else we book a US operator. Flights to the Dominican Republic, Sint Maarten or the British Virgin Islands are international and have their own entry rules. Puerto Rico does not change its clocks: it is four hours behind London in winter and five in summer.

Travelling with a dog or cat

US federal rules and Puerto Rico's own requirements both apply:

• Dogs need a CDC Dog Import Form completed online for each dog, a microchip readable by a universal scanner and a minimum age of six months; the receipt is valid for six months and is shown on arrival.
• The island's Department of Agriculture also asks for a health certificate, a rabies vaccination for animals over four months and a microchip; cats fall under these rules, not under the CDC form.
• The pet travels in the cabin beside you, up to five animals, once the operator has agreed; it is declared to CBP with the flight.
• Back to the EU no antibody test is needed, because the United States is on the EU list; EU pet passport, microchip and valid rabies vaccination are enough, through an airport with a pet checkpoint.
• Dogs going back to the UK need tapeworm treatment 1-5 days before arrival (for trips of five days or less it can be given before leaving the UK) and enter only through approved routes.

Checklist before the flight

• ESTA approval or visa for every passenger, including children, before the operator is chosen.
• Passports valid for the whole stay.
• Arrival airport in Puerto Rico and landing time checked against customs hours.
• Catering ordered without fresh fruit, meat or dairy that would be confiscated.
• US operator booked for any leg within Puerto Rico, to the US Virgin Islands or to Florida that carries guests who did not arrive on the jet.
• CDC receipt and health certificate for a dog or cat.

How to book

1. Send dates, passengers, luggage and the part of Puerto Rico you are going to.
2. We check ESTA or visa status and choose operators that match it.
3. You receive offers with operator, model, routing, flight time and price for the whole aircraft.
4. After signing and payment, the operator obtains the US permits, landing rights and customs slot.
5. The handler meets the aircraft in San Juan, and CBP clears you in the terminal.

Questions about flying privately to Puerto Rico

• • How much is a private jet to Puerto Rico?

  • From Tenerife or Madeira a Praetor 600 costs from EUR 47,000 without a stop. From London a Challenger 650 with one stop costs EUR 89,000 and a Falcon 7X non-stop EUR 100,000, one way for the whole aircraft.

• • Can we fly non-stop from Europe?

  • Yes, in a long-range jet such as a Falcon 7X, Gulfstream G550 or Global 7500, for example 8:57 h from Frankfurt. A heavy jet refuels once in the Azores.

• • Where do private jets land?

  • Mostly at Luis Muñoz Marín in San Juan, where CBP clears passengers in the FBO. Aguadilla and Ponce work when customs is booked for the landing time, and Isla Grande takes smaller jets until 20:00.

• • Is ESTA enough?

  • Only if the operator has signed the US visa waiver agreement. We check this before choosing the aircraft; otherwise every passenger needs a visa.

• • Can the same aircraft take us on to Miami?

  • Yes, if the passengers are the ones who arrived on it from abroad; the operator obtains a permit to proceed for the domestic leg. Anyone joining in San Juan flies with a US operator; a Citation CJ3 between Miami and San Juan costs from EUR 14,500.

• • How do we get to Vieques or Culebra?

  • By turboprop or air taxi from San Juan, about 30 minutes to Vieques, or by ferry from Ceiba. These are domestic flights with a US operator.

• • What is the time difference?

  • Puerto Rico keeps Atlantic Standard Time all year: five hours behind Paris in winter and six in summer.

• • When is the best time to go?

  • December to April for dry weather; May and November for lower prices. The hurricane risk is highest from August to October.

• • Can we take our dog?

  • Yes, with a CDC Dog Import Form, a microchip and a minimum age of six months, plus the island's health certificate and rabies vaccination. The dog stays in the cabin.

• • Does the jet wait in Puerto Rico?

  • For a few days it usually does. For a week or more it is often cheaper to send it home and bring it back, and we quote both options.

• • How far ahead should we book?

  • For Christmas, Three Kings and March, several weeks ahead. Outside these periods a few days are usually enough, as long as ESTA approvals are in place.