West 24 airports Rank 11 of 51
Private JetCharter California
24 fields across California, serving Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Napa, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Monterey and Lake Tahoe. Operators bid on your trip without knowing who is flying it.
Ground truth
Flying in and out of California
California carries 24 fields in our network, grouped into 8 metro markets: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Napa, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Monterey and Lake Tahoe.
Charter is on demand, not scheduled. There is no local timetable to work around and no requirement that an aircraft already be sitting in California when you call. What matters is how far the nearest suitable aircraft has to fly to reach you, because that repositioning leg is frequently the largest single line in a charter quote.
That is the practical reason states with a dense business aviation fleet quote lower than states without one, and the reason a Tuesday departure prices differently from a Friday. It has very little to do with the distance you are actually flying.
Choosing the field
Pick on ground transfer time to your real destination rather than on the name you recognise. Twenty minutes of extra driving frequently buys a cheaper ramp, a faster departure and better parking availability. Runway length decides which aircraft can use each field at all, and customs facilities decide which can accept an international arrival.
Los Angeles. John Wayne enforces a noise abatement departure procedure and a night curfew. Palm Springs. Summer temperatures regularly exceed the point at which aircraft performance charts limit payload, so midday departures are often avoided. Monterey. Marine layer fog frequently affects morning arrivals along the Monterey Peninsula. Lake Tahoe. Truckee operates a voluntary night curfew and a published quiet hours program.
| Airport | ICAO | IATA | Serves | Coordinates | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bermuda Dunes | KUDD | UDD | Palm Springs | 33.748, -116.275 | Alternate |
| Charles M Schulz Sonoma County | KSTS | STS | Napa | 38.509, -122.813 | Alternate |
| Hayward Executive | KHWD | HWD | San Francisco | 37.659, -122.122 | Alternate |
| Hollywood Burbank | KBUR | BUR | Los Angeles | 34.201, -118.359 | Alternate |
| Jacqueline Cochran Regional | KTRM | TRM | Palm Springs | 33.627, -116.160 | Alternate |
| John Wayne Orange County | KSNA | SNA | Los Angeles | 33.676, -117.868 | Alternate |
| Lake Tahoe | KTVL | TVL | Lake Tahoe | 38.894, -119.995 | Alternate |
| Long Beach | KLGB | LGB | Los Angeles | 33.818, -118.152 | Alternate |
| Los Angeles International | KLAX | LAX | Los Angeles | 33.942, -118.408 | Customs |
| McClellan Palomar | KCRQ | CRQ | San Diego | 33.128, -117.280 | Alternate |
| Monterey Regional | KMRY | MRY | Monterey | 36.587, -121.843 | Preferred |
| Montgomery Gibbs Executive | KMYF | MYF | San Diego | 32.816, -117.140 | Alternate |
| Napa County | KAPC | APC | Napa | 38.213, -122.281 | Preferred |
| Oakland International | KOAK | OAK | San Francisco | 37.721, -122.221 | Alternate |
| Oxnard | KOXR | OXR | Santa Barbara | 34.201, -119.207 | Alternate |
| Palm Springs International | KPSP | PSP | Palm Springs | 33.830, -116.507 | Preferred |
| Salinas Municipal | KSNS | SNS | Monterey | 36.663, -121.606 | Alternate |
| San Carlos | KSQL | SQL | San Francisco | 37.512, -122.250 | Alternate |
| San Diego International | KSAN | SAN | San Diego | 32.734, -117.190 | Preferred |
| San Francisco International | KSFO | SFO | San Francisco | 37.619, -122.375 | Preferred |
| Santa Barbara Municipal | KSBA | SBA | Santa Barbara | 34.426, -119.840 | Preferred |
| Santa Maria | KSMX | SMX | Santa Barbara | 34.899, -120.457 | Alternate |
| Truckee Tahoe | KTRK | TRK | Lake Tahoe | 39.320, -120.139 | Preferred |
| Van Nuys | KVNY | VNY | Los Angeles | 34.210, -118.490 | Preferred |
Routes
Published legs touching California
Departing California
- Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas 808 nm / 2h 13m
- Los Angeles to New York 2,129 nm / 5h 17m
- Los Angeles to Jackson Hole 670 nm / 1h 54m
- Los Angeles to Cancun 1,848 nm / 4h 37m
- Los Angeles to Denver 729 nm / 2h 02m
- San Francisco to Cabo San Lucas 1,086 nm / 2h 52m
- Los Angeles to Aspen 634 nm / 1h 49m
- San Francisco to Las Vegas 359 nm / 1h 11m
- Los Angeles to San Francisco 278 nm / 1h 02m
- San Francisco to Los Angeles 278 nm / 1h 02m
- Los Angeles to Scottsdale 330 nm / 1h 07m
- Los Angeles to Sun Valley 591 nm / 1h 43m
Arriving into California
- New York to Los Angeles 2,129 nm / 5h 17m
- Jackson Hole to Los Angeles 670 nm / 1h 54m
- Denver to Los Angeles 729 nm / 2h 02m
- Aspen to Los Angeles 634 nm / 1h 49m
- Las Vegas to San Francisco 359 nm / 1h 11m
- Los Angeles to San Francisco 278 nm / 1h 02m
- San Francisco to Los Angeles 278 nm / 1h 02m
- Scottsdale to Los Angeles 330 nm / 1h 07m
- Sun Valley to Los Angeles 591 nm / 1h 43m
- Honolulu to Los Angeles 2,217 nm / 5h 29m
- Maui to Los Angeles 2,157 nm / 5h 20m
- Sun Valley to San Francisco 510 nm / 1h 32m
Questions
Charter in California
Nearby states
City guides
Which airports can a private jet use in California?
We track 24 fields in California that handle charter traffic, from Bermuda Dunes through to Van Nuys. The full list with ICAO and IATA identifiers and reference coordinates is in the table on this page. Which one suits your trip depends on runway length, whether you need customs on arrival, ramp availability on your date, and how far the field actually is from where you are going.
Where do private jets fly from in California?
We publish routes out of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Napa, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Monterey and Lake Tahoe. Across those, the most requested run to Cabo San Lucas, New York and Jackson Hole. Every route page carries the computed great circle distance, block time by aircraft class and whether the leg goes nonstop.
How much does a private jet cost in California?
There is no fixed rate, in California or anywhere else, and any site quoting one is guessing. The dominant variable is whether an operator already has a suitable aircraft positioned nearby, because a repositioning leg can cost as much as the flight you actually want. Send the trip through the form and certificated operators bid on it against each other, sealed, without knowing who you are.
How popular is private jet charter in California?
Measured by share of search rather than by flights, California ranks 11 of 51 US states and territories for the term "private jet charter" over the five years to July 2026, with a relative interest score of 35 against a national high of 100. That is a measure of how much of the search activity inside California concerns charter, not a count of departures, so a small state with a resort airport will out index a populous one.
Can a light jet fly from California?
On 10 of the 12 published routes out of California, yes, a light jet such as the Phenom 300E covers the leg nonstop with comfortable margin. On the rest the sector length forces a fuel stop or a larger class. Runway length at the departure field matters as much as range, and the airport table above lists every option.
Photography on this site is representative. It does not depict a specific aircraft, operator or tail number offered for charter.