Los Angeles
Charter Routes
The West Coast desk. Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley is the departure, with FBOs on both sides of the field and no airlines, and the two sectors that define it are the transcontinental run to Teterboro and the open-water crossing to Hawaii.
Reviewed by Kevin Singh, Founder · Fact-checked against Icarus Jet fleet and airport operations data · Last updated 11 September 2026
Charter routes
Where can you fly privately from Los Angeles?
Los Angeles is the West Coast desk, the base for the transcontinental business sector and the Pacific crossing. The field is Van Nuys, north of the Hollywood Hills in the San Fernando Valley, with an 8,001 foot runway, FBOs on both sides including Signature and the Bob Hoover Jet Center and no airlines, while John Wayne, Long Beach and Burbank serve a departure that starts nearer home and Los Angeles International serves only a connection from an airline. The first decision on every trip is the aircraft, because both sectors are long: five hours to Teterboro against or with the jet stream, and five and a half hours of open water to Hawaii, which only a super-midsize jet or larger can fly nonstop with reserves. What flies from here falls into two kinds of sector: the business run to New York, entertainment on one coast and finance on the other, and the holiday crossing to Honolulu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. The two routes below are the ones the desk quotes most, and each opens to its own guide with the flight time, the distance, the aircraft that fit and the airports at both ends.
Airport and airspace facts across these routes are checked against the FAA aeronautical information publications and Icarus Jet operations data.
Airport guides
The airports behind the Los Angeles routes
The fields these sectors leave from and land at, with runways, slots, permits and handling on their own guides, written by the desk that files the paperwork.
Questions
Los Angeles charter route questions
Which Los Angeles airport do private jets use?
Van Nuys, in the San Fernando Valley, with an 8,001 foot runway, FBOs on both sides of the field and no airlines. John Wayne in Orange County, Long Beach and Bob Hope in Burbank take private jets when they are closer to home. LAX only for a connection from an airline.
How long is Los Angeles to New York by private jet?
About five hours eastbound on a super-midsize jet, a little under on a heavy or long-range jet, Van Nuys to Teterboro. Westbound adds 30 to 45 minutes against the jet stream.
How long is Los Angeles to Hawaii by private jet?
Five to six hours westbound to Honolulu, a little more to Maui, Kauai or the Big Island, and a little less on the way home with the wind.
Which aircraft fly from Los Angeles?
Super-midsize, heavy and long-range jets on both sectors. Light and midsize jets need a fuel stop to New York and cannot fly to Hawaii at all, because the crossing is open water with no airport in between.
Why can a light jet not fly to Hawaii?
The sector is about 2,500 statute miles of ocean and the aircraft must carry the range with reserves. A Citation CJ2, Hawker 400XP or Phenom 300 falls short; a Challenger 350 class super-midsize is the smallest aircraft the desk quotes.
Do these flights need customs?
No. New York and Hawaii are domestic, so there is no customs and no airline security line. Bring government photo ID for the crew, and expect an agricultural inspection of baggage on the way home from Hawaii.
What is the time change?
New York is three hours ahead of Los Angeles. Hawaii is three hours behind in summer and two in winter, because it keeps standard time all year.
Can I do Los Angeles to New York and back in a day?
It is possible but long, because an 8 am departure lands about 4 pm Eastern. Most trips are an overnight or two, quoted as two one-way flights.
Which Hawaiian island can a private jet land on?
Any of them: Honolulu for Oahu, Kahului for Maui, Lihue for Kauai, Kona or Hilo for the Big Island. A private jet lands on the island you are staying on rather than connecting through Honolulu.
How much notice does a Los Angeles sector need?
A few days is normal. For awards season, the summer weeks, Christmas to Easter for Hawaii and the Christmas weeks generally, give the desk firm dates a week or two ahead because the aircraft with the range are the constraint.
Get your number
Flying from Los Angeles? Quoted from the desk
Tell us the dates, the passengers and the sector. You get an aircraft that fits, the paperwork filed and a number you can hold us to.
Contact UsPrefer to talk? Call +1 888 277 7203 or email charter@icarusjet.com. The desk is staffed 24/7.