Le Bourget private jet guide: FBOs, services and transfers

A Le Bourget private jet is how almost every private flight into Paris arrives, and our private jet hire Paris page has the live prices. Charles de Gaulle and Orly handle the airlines, and Le Bourget, just north of the city, handles business aviation. This guide covers what you need to know before flying in or out: which FBOs are there, how catering works, how long the drive into Paris takes, and when the airport gets busy.

What is Paris–Le Bourget?

Paris–Le Bourget (LFPB) is a business-aviation airport run by Groupe ADP, the operator of Paris's main airports. It is regularly described as Europe's leading business-aviation airport, and one of its FBO managers puts its traffic at around 60,000 movements a year. Because it accepts business aviation into Paris and has no scheduled airline service, it is sometimes called the Teterboro of Europe, after the New York field covered in our Teterboro private jet guide.

It has three runways: 07/25 at 3,000 m, 03/21 at 2,665 m and 09/27 at 1,845 m. Every business jet in service can use it, including the ultra-long-range Globals and Gulfstreams. Aircraft size is rarely a constraint here. The constraints are parking on peak days and the night-time rules described below.

It is also home to the Paris Air Show, held every other June, when the airport becomes an exhibition ground and normal business traffic is heavily disrupted. If your dates fall in show week, talk to your operator early.

The FBOs at Le Bourget

An FBO is the private terminal and handling company that meets your aircraft, takes you through border formalities and gets you to your car. If the term is new, see what is an FBO. Le Bourget has more FBOs than almost any airport in Europe. Current listings include:

• Signature, in Terminal 1 on the north-east side of the field.
• Jet Aviation, which took over the former AstonSky FBO. Its lounge offers butler service and direct access to the apron, and a valet meets arriving cars.
• ExecuJet (Luxaviation group), Jetex and Universal Aviation.
• Advanced Air Support, an independent FBO that is part of the Sky Valet Connect network.
• Dassault Falcon Service, which also handles maintenance for Falcon aircraft.

Opening hours differ. According to published FBO listings, some handlers run 24 hours a day, while others close in the late evening, between about 10pm and 11pm. For an early-morning or late-night movement, check that your FBO will be open as well as the airport.

Jet Aviation at Le Bourget

Many people searching for Jet Aviation at Le Bourget want to know whether they can choose it. In practice, the FBO is usually chosen by the operator, based on its handling contracts, fuel arrangements and where it can park the aircraft. You can ask for a particular FBO when you book, and most operators will try to accommodate it, but it is a request, not a right. A specific FBO matters most for regular travellers with a preferred lounge, guests who value a discreet arrival, and groups being collected by a particular car service.

The handling itself is a smaller differentiator than it looks. Every major FBO at Le Bourget offers lounges, crew facilities, car access to the aircraft and catering coordination. The differences are in style and service rather than function.

Choosing a Le Bourget private jet FBO: what to ask

Because the operator usually picks the FBO, the useful thing you can do is ask the right questions when you book. These are the ones that change the day itself, rather than the look of the lounge.

None of these questions is unusual, and a good operator will answer them without fuss. If the answers are vague in the week of a major show, that is a sign to confirm the arrangements in writing.

Private jet charter from Le Bourget

Private jet charter from Le Bourget works like charter from anywhere else: you, or a broker acting for you, request a quote from an operator holding an air operator certificate, and the operator flies the aircraft. If you are unsure who is who, see charter broker vs operator.

Le Bourget is both a busy origin and a busy destination, so positioning costs are often lower here than at smaller airports. Plenty of aircraft are based at or pass through the field. Indicative prices on the main routes, using this site's published Paris figures:

Indicative whole-aircraft prices, not per seat. The figure for any specific flight depends on the aircraft, where it is based and the date; the live figure is confirmed on enquiry.

Two points about these numbers. First, they are for the aircraft, so a light jet shared by five people costs a fifth of the figure each. Second, the headline price is not always the whole price. Landing, handling and any catering are sometimes listed separately, so ask for an all-in quote. Our guide to private jet hidden fees covers what to look for.

For a London–Paris trip specifically, compare honestly with the train; the section below on when Le Bourget isn't the right choice sets out when the jet actually saves time and when it doesn't.

A Le Bourget private jet from London: a worked example

Take four colleagues travelling from the West End to a lunch meeting near the Champs-Élysées, flying on a light jet. On this site's indicative figures, London to Paris costs roughly £5,000–£9,000 one way on full charter, a price that includes the aircraft's positioning, or about £1,250–£2,250 each. If a matching empty leg lists, the whole aircraft is roughly £2,200–£4,500, or about £550–£1,125 each. These are indicative; the live figure is confirmed on enquiry.

London drive times from our guide to private jet airports in London, which links each figure to its source. Paris times as above.

Add it up and the door-to-door journey is roughly two and a half to three hours, most of it on the road. The flight is the shortest part of the trip, which is why the choice of London airport matters as much as the aircraft. A same-day return changes the arithmetic again: if the aircraft waits for you at Le Bourget, the operator may charge for parking and crew time, so ask for the return priced alongside the outbound before you decide.

Private jet catering at LFPB

Catering on a private jet at Le Bourget is ordered through your operator or FBO, not bought at the airport. Your crew or handler places the order with a specialist kitchen, which delivers to the aircraft before departure. Our private jet catering guide explains how this works in general. The points specific to Le Bourget are:

• Specialist kitchens serve the field. Air Culinaire Worldwide's Paris kitchen, for example, lists Le Bourget among the airports it serves and offers made-to-order dishes and special requests, including halal.
• Kitchens work set hours. The same kitchen lists operating hours of 8am to 6pm. For an early-morning departure, have the order in by the afternoon before.
• FBOs can also arrange it. Every major FBO at Le Bourget lists catering among its services, and they will coordinate with kitchens or local suppliers on your behalf.
• Light refreshments are usually included. Snacks, soft drinks and coffee typically come with the aircraft. A full catered menu is normally an extra, so ask whether it appears on your quote.

Paris has a deep pool of restaurants and pâtissiers, and handlers are used to collecting from a named address in the city. If a particular restaurant matters to you, say so when booking, not on the morning of the flight.

Getting from Le Bourget into Paris

Le Bourget is just north of the city. By road, central Paris is usually 20–30 minutes away, La Défense about 30 minutes and Versailles about 45, all traffic permitting. Most FBOs let a pre-booked car meet you at or near the aircraft, which is the main time saving over the airline airports.

A helicopter can be arranged on request, for example to a château, an event venue or another airport. For most trips into the city, though, the car is the sensible choice. Paris traffic can be slow, but the drive is short.

A few practical points:

• Book the car with the flight. Your FBO or operator can arrange it, and it will be waiting at the aircraft rather than outside a terminal.
• Allow for the périphérique. The 20–30 minute figure assumes normal traffic. At rush hour or during a big event, allow more.
• Border formalities are quick. Arrivals from outside the Schengen area, including London, are processed at the FBO, which usually takes minutes.

What arriving at Le Bourget looks like

If you have never flown into Le Bourget, the sequence is simple, and most of it happens without you:

1. Before departure, your operator sends the passenger list, ID details and any catering or car requests to the FBO. Send any changes, such as an extra passenger or a different drop-off address, through the operator.
2. On landing, the aircraft taxis to the FBO's stand, and a member of the handling team meets you at the steps.
3. Border formalities, where needed, are handled in the FBO terminal. Arriving from inside Schengen there is usually nothing to do. From London, it is a passport check that normally takes minutes.
4. Luggage is unloaded by the crew and handlers and taken to your car. You don't wait at a carousel.
5. Your car is waiting at the terminal or, where the FBO allows, beside the aircraft, and you are on the road to Paris.

On a normal day, the time from the aircraft door to the car door is measured in minutes. That, more than the flight itself, is what you pay for, and it is why Le Bourget is worth understanding before you fly.

When Le Bourget gets busy

Le Bourget is busy year-round, but some weeks put real pressure on parking and handling: the Paris fashion weeks, Roland-Garros, the major art and trade fairs, and above all the Paris Air Show. In those weeks, operators often drop passengers and fly the aircraft elsewhere to park, then return to collect them.

Those positioning flights are why Le Bourget is one of Europe's best airports for empty legs. Paris trades flights with every major European hub, including London, Geneva, Milan and Nice (see private jet hire Nice), so repositioning legs in and out are plentiful. The window around a big Paris week is a good time to set an alert. How to find empty legs covers the methods.

If you are flying during one of these weeks on full charter, book early and confirm FBO and parking arrangements at the same time. A late booking can mean a less convenient FBO or an aircraft parked at another airport between legs, with the extra positioning cost on your quote.

When a Le Bourget private jet isn't the right choice

Le Bourget is the right airport for almost every private flight into Paris, but flying private is not always the right way to get to Paris, and we would rather say so.

• You are travelling alone or as a couple from central London. The train runs between city centres, and on a short sector the time saved by flying is smaller than it looks once you count the drive to a London airfield. Our comparison of a private jet London to Paris against the Eurostar sets out where the line falls.
• You are connecting to a long-haul airline flight. If your onward journey leaves from Charles de Gaulle, landing at Le Bourget means a road transfer between airports, and your operator may suggest an alternative.
• Your dates fall in Paris Air Show week. The airport becomes an exhibition ground and normal business traffic is heavily disrupted. Unless you are going to the show, it is worth moving the trip.
• The quote is mostly positioning. If the nearest suitable aircraft is a long way from London, the positioning can dominate the price of an hour's flight. Watching for an empty leg, or flexing the date, often costs far less.

When flying private does make sense, it is usually for a group, a tight schedule, or a trip that continues somewhere the train doesn't reach easily. For the full list of cities we cover, see our private jet hire destinations.

Frequently asked questions