Routes
Private Jet to Los Angeles: Airports, Cost, Flight Times
Van Nuys versus Burbank and Santa Monica for LA
Booking a private jet to Los Angeles starts with an airport most travelers have never heard of. Van Nuys (VNY), not LAX, handles most of LA’s private jet traffic. The FAA also ranks it as the country’s busiest general aviation airport by total operations. That one detail shapes nearly every part of the trip, from which airport you use and how the curfew affects your schedule to why flights in LA are priced the way they are.
LA has one of the deepest private aviation markets in the country. Demand is fueled by the entertainment industry’s production and awards calendar, as well as the city’s role as a West Coast gateway to Las Vegas, Hawaii, and mountain resorts. Yet despite all that activity, and despite smaller markets such as Vegas and Miami already having dedicated route guides, LA has never had one on this site.
Where a private jet to Los Angeles actually lands
Van Nuys (KVNY) sits in the San Fernando Valley, about 15 miles north of LAX. The FAA recorded roughly 487,500 general aviation operations there in recent years, more than any other GA airport in the nation. Four FBOs work the field: Clay Lacy Aviation, Castle & Cooke Aviation, Signature Aviation, and Jet Aviation. Two parallel runways serve it, the longer one 8,000 feet with an ILS. Van Nuys carries a nighttime curfew: no aircraft may depart between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., with narrow exceptions for military, government, and emergency flights.
Hollywood Burbank (KBUR), formerly Bob Hope Airport, sits about 6 miles east of Van Nuys and is the closer field for Studio City, Toluca Lake, and the Valley’s production studios. Its longer runway runs 6,886 feet, enough for most heavy jets including a Gulfstream G650-class aircraft. Burbank’s curfew is informal and applies mainly to commercial Stage 2 aircraft between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.; the FAA rejected a 2009 proposal for a mandatory curfew covering all operations, so private jets face fewer formal restrictions there than at Van Nuys.
Santa Monica (KSMO) is the closest field to the Westside and the beach cities, but it is disappearing as a jet airport. Under a 2017 settlement between the city, the FAA, and the Department of Justice, the runway is being shortened from 4,973 feet to 3,500 feet, a length too short for most business jets, ahead of the airport’s planned closure at the end of 2028. Santa Monica also runs the area’s strictest curfew: no takeoffs between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays, extended to 8 a.m. on weekends, enforced with criminal penalties.
Los Angeles International (LAX) takes any aircraft that needs a runway with no constraint, but you queue behind one of the world’s busiest airline operations and pay commercial-grade ramp and handling fees for the privilege.
LA private jet airports compared
| Van Nuys (VNY) | Burbank (BUR) | Santa Monica (SMO) | LAX | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longest runway | 8,000 ft | 6,886 ft | Being cut to 3,500 ft | No constraint |
| Aircraft fit | Light through heavy | Light through heavy | Turboprops and light jets only, shrinking | Any |
| Curfew | Mandatory, 11 p.m.–7 a.m. | Informal, mainly commercial Stage 2 | Mandatory, 11 p.m.–7/8 a.m., criminal penalties | None |
| Distance to Westside | About 20–25 min | About 30–40 min | Under 15 min | 20–30 min |
| Best for | Default for most trips, deepest FBO network | Studio City, Valley productions | Only for light aircraft, before the 2028 closure | Overflow, international, or when Van Nuys curfews block your timing |
Why Van Nuys is the default and Burbank is the backup
Van Nuys wins most bookings on FBO depth and location, not on having the fewest rules. Its curfew is the strictest of the three surviving jet fields, and it is enforced.
That curfew is the case where Burbank becomes the better answer. A production wrap that runs past 10 p.m., or an awards-show after-party that ends near midnight, can put a Van Nuys departure past the 11 p.m. cutoff. Burbank has no equivalent mandatory rule for private aircraft, so a late departure that Van Nuys cannot legally take, Burbank generally can.
Run the numbers on getting that wrong. If your group is set to leave Van Nuys at 11:30 p.m. and the curfew blocks it, the aircraft either waits until 7 a.m., adding a full crew overnight at roughly $300 to $500 per crew member, or repositions to Burbank first. On a representative $6,500-an-hour midsize jet, even a short 10-minute reposition typically bills against at least a half-hour minimum, so call it $3,250 in flight charges for a hop you never sat on, on top of a second FBO’s handling fee. Confirm your return time against the Van Nuys curfew before you book the field.
Flight times and the routes LA pairs with most
Los Angeles shows up constantly as one leg of a longer trip, not as a standalone destination. These are block-time estimates for direct routing in still air.
- Las Vegas: about 200 nm from Van Nuys, roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour in a light jet. See our Las Vegas route guide for airport choice and event-weekend pricing on that leg.
- Honolulu, Hawaii: about 2,220 nm, the same distance used on our Hawaii route guide, which only super-midsize and larger jets can cover nonstop.
- Aspen: about 630 nm, roughly 2 hours in a light or midsize jet, per published charter routing data. LA sits close enough to Aspen and the other Rocky Mountain resorts that West Coast operators reposition aircraft between the two markets constantly during ski season, which is also why LA’s empty-leg inventory to Aspen runs deep from December through March.
- New York area: the reverse of the Miami-to-LA leg on our Miami route guide, roughly 2,085 nm and about 4 hr 50 min eastbound, longer westbound against the jet stream.
What drives Los Angeles charter demand
Two forces set LA’s private aviation calendar apart from most US cities. The entertainment industry runs its own production and promotion schedule independent of holidays: pilot season, awards season from January through March, and film festival circuits all pull demand that has nothing to do with a typical leisure calendar.
The second force is geography. LA sits within a short hop of Las Vegas, within range of Hawaii for the aircraft that can make the crossing, and close enough to the Colorado ski resorts that a Friday-afternoon repositioning pattern runs all winter. That density of short, repeatable routes is exactly what generates deep empty-leg inventory. If your dates flex by a day or two on any of the LA-Vegas, LA-Aspen, or LA-Hawaii corridors, check empty leg listings before booking a full charter.
Booking a private jet to Los Angeles around the calendar
Awards season (the Golden Globes, Grammys, and Oscars all fall between January and March) and the fall film festival stretch both tighten ramp space at Van Nuys, the same way convention weeks tighten Las Vegas. Book those weeks three to four weeks out.
Outside those windows, LA’s aircraft supply is deep enough that a week’s notice, sometimes less, is usually enough. If you fly the LA-Vegas or LA-Aspen corridor more than a handful of times a year, price a jet card membership against your last few charter invoices; the guaranteed availability matters most exactly during the weeks LA’s own calendar gets busiest.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best airport for a private jet to Los Angeles?
Van Nuys (VNY) is the default choice for most trips. It is the busiest general aviation airport in the country by operations, has the deepest FBO network in the LA basin, and its 8,000-foot runway takes anything up to a heavy jet. Choose Burbank (BUR) instead if your departure time runs past Van Nuys's 11 p.m. curfew, since Burbank has no equivalent mandatory rule for private aircraft.
Can private jets still use Santa Monica Airport?
Only for now, and only smaller aircraft. Under a 2017 settlement with the FAA and the Department of Justice, Santa Monica's runway is being shortened from 4,973 feet to 3,500 feet, too short for most business jets, and the airport is set to close entirely by the end of 2028. Van Nuys or Burbank are the practical choices for a jet-category aircraft today.
How far is Los Angeles from Las Vegas by private jet?
About 200 nautical miles from Van Nuys, which runs roughly 45 minutes to an hour in a light jet including taxi and climb. It is one of the shortest legs in West Coast private aviation and one of the most repeated, which is why LA-Vegas empty legs are common on short notice.
Does Los Angeles have a nighttime curfew for private jets?
Van Nuys does: no aircraft may depart between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., with exceptions only for military, government, and emergency flights. Santa Monica's curfew is even stricter and carries criminal penalties for violations. Burbank has no equivalent mandatory rule for private aircraft, which makes it the practical alternate for a late departure.
Booking a private jet to Los Angeles comes down to matching the airport to your schedule and your aircraft size. Van Nuys covers most trips. Burbank is the answer when the curfew does not work, and Santa Monica is a shrinking option that will not exist as a jet field much longer.
Compare charter pricing before you commit, starting with the midsize and heavy jets that make the LA-Vegas and LA-Hawaii routes work, or see the full route library for other West Coast connections.
We update this guide as aircraft, program, and route pricing changes. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll check it.