IN SHORT

Airliners and freighters carry the most: up to 85 tonnes of passengers (Airbus A380) or 133 tonnes of cargo (Boeing 747-8F). Business jets fly as far, up to 15 186 km (Gulfstream G800), but carry under 2 tonnes. Helicopters fly up to about 1 060 km, passenger eVTOL 30 to 460 km, and cargo drones from 10 km with 1.4 kg to 2 500 km with 350 kg.

ANALYSIS

Read the chart as a staircase. Bottom left: delivery drones carrying a few kilograms over a few kilometres. Middle: helicopters, eVTOL and turboprops. Top right: airliners and freighters moving tens of tonnes across continents.

Business jets form their own flat band on the right. They fly as far as airliners, up to 15 000 km, but carry only 0.5 to 2 tonnes. They are built to take a few people very far, very fast, not to move volume.

The empty space between eVTOL (up to 460 km) and helicopters (up to about 1 000 km) is the gap battery technology still has to close. The empty space between business jets and airliners is a question of cabin size, not technology.

Two models break the pattern of their group: the Dronamics Black Swan drone, which flies further than most turboprops, and the airliner-based business jets (BBJ, ACJ), which have airliner range but business jet passenger numbers.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

◆ Every type of aircraft owns its own corner of the chart.

◆ Business jets: airliner range, small load.

◆ Drones and eVTOL are growing up the chart, starting from the bottom left.

ANALYSIS

76 business jets from Bombardier, Gulfstream, Dassault, Cessna, Embraer, Hawker, Pilatus and HondaJet. The median range is about 6 200 km, roughly London to New York with reserves. The spread is wide: from 2 161 km for the Citation Mustang to 15 186 km for the Gulfstream G800.

Load hardly moves. Almost every large jet tops out at 19 passengers, so the commercial load sits between 0.5 and 1.9 tonnes across the whole class. What you pay for when moving up the range is not more seats, it is more fuel, a bigger wing and a cabin you can live in for 15 hours.

The ultra-long-range group (Global 7500 and 8000, G700 and G800) is tightly packed above 14 000 km. Differences of a few hundred kilometres decide whether routes like Singapore to Los Angeles or Sydney to Dubai are flown non-stop in all seasons.

For buyers: if your longest regular trip is under 5 000 km, a super-midsize jet such as a Challenger 350 or Citation Longitude covers it at a fraction of the cost of an ultra-long-range jet. Range you do not use is still range you pay for, in purchase price, fuel and maintenance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

◆ Range grows 7 times from smallest to largest; load grows less than 4 times.

◆ Above 14 000 km, four models compete within 7% of each other.

◆ Match the jet to your typical mission, not to the one long trip a year.

ANALYSIS

61 airliners from Airbus, Boeing, Embraer and Bombardier CRJ, including the airliner-based business jets. Here load becomes the main story: the A380, with up to 853 seats, carries about 85 tonnes of passengers, the ERJ 145 about 5 tonnes.

The leaders by capability are the big twins and four-engine jets: A380, Boeing 747-400, 777-300ER and A350-1000. The A350-1000 combines over 16 600 km of range with 48 tonnes of passengers, which is why it replaces four-engine jets on the longest routes.

Regional and single-aisle jets cluster between about 2 900 and 7 400 km. The A321XLR stands out at about 8 700 km, stretching a narrow-body to transatlantic range and opening routes that used to need a wide-body.

The outliers at the bottom are the VIP versions. A BBJ 787 flies over 18 000 km, further than any airliner here, but with 25 passengers instead of 300. These are the aircraft for heads of state and families who want an airliner cabin without stopping.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

◆ The A350-1000 and 777-300ER are the long-haul workhorses: high load and over 13 600 km.

◆ The A321XLR has the longest range of any single-aisle airliner here, VIP versions aside.

◆ VIP airliners trade 90% of the seats for the longest range of all.

ANALYSIS

14 freighters, from the ATR 72-600F carrying 9.2 tonnes to the Boeing 747-8F at 132.6 tonnes. Here range is quoted at maximum payload where the manufacturer publishes it, so these are real working figures, not empty ferry ranges.

The big three for long-haul cargo are the 747-8F, the 777F and the new 777-8F and A350F. The 777-8F and A350F carry 111 to 118 tonnes over about 8 700 to 9 300 km on two engines, which is why airlines are replacing four-engine 747 freighters with them.

In the middle sit converted passenger jets: the A321P2F, 737-800BCF and A330P2F. They give 15 to 25 year old airframes a second career and are the backbone of e-commerce networks.

At the bottom, the ATR 72-600F and Embraer E190F serve express parcel networks on short legs, where a 10 tonne load flown several times a day beats one big flight.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

◆ Twin-engine freighters now match the 747 on range with 84 to 89% of its payload.

◆ Conversions turn retired passenger jets into cargo assets for another decade or more.

◆ For regional express, 9 to 11 tonnes on short legs is the sweet spot.

ANALYSIS

13 turboprops split into two different worlds. The ATR family carries 5 to 7.8 tonnes of passengers but only 1 300 to 1 600 km at full load. The King Air and PC-12 carry 0.7 to 1.5 tonnes but fly 2 300 to 5 000 km.

The King Air 360ER has the longest range of any turboprop on our pages, almost 5 000 km, more than many light jets. The PC-12 family, with a single engine, flies over 3 200 km, which explains its popularity with owner-pilots and air ambulance operators.

The ATR 72 delivers the highest capability in this group by far. It is the standard regional airliner for islands, short runways and routes like Istanbul to Antalya or Almaty to Astana, where a jet would burn much more fuel for the same trip.

The Beechcraft 1900D, with 19 seats and about 1 260 km, is the short-haul specialist: shuttles to mines, oil fields and islands, where it is often the only aircraft that fits the runway and the budget.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

◆ ATR: airliner load, regional range.

◆ King Air 360ER: light-jet range at turboprop operating cost.

◆ Turboprops win on short sectors and short or unpaved runways.

ANALYSIS

Seven helicopters from AgustaWestland and Bell, all between 600 and about 1 060 km of maximum range and 6 to 15 passengers. Their real advantage is not on this chart: they take off and land almost anywhere.

The AW139 leads on both axes with about 1 060 km and up to 15 passengers. It is the reference for offshore, VIP and search and rescue work. The Bell 412EP follows closely, with 13 seats.

Light singles and twins such as the Bell 407, AW109 and AW119Kx carry 6 to 7 passengers. In practice most flights are much shorter than the maximum range: city to airport, yacht to shore, or a hop to a construction site.

Compared with eVTOL, today's helicopters still fly further: from about a third more than the best winged eVTOL to thirty times more than the shortest-range multicopters. That gap is why helicopters will keep the longer missions for years, while eVTOL take over short city hops first.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

◆ AW139: the long-range, high-capacity reference.

◆ All helicopters here fly 600 km or more.

◆ eVTOL first compete on short hops, not on helicopter missions.

ANALYSIS

Nine passenger eVTOL with published range and seats. Ranges run from 30 km for the EHang EH216-S to 460 km for the BETA ALIA, and loads from one to five passengers. These are manufacturer figures and design targets, most still waiting for certification.

Two design schools show clearly. Multicopters like the EH216-S and VoloCity are simple and certified first, but fly only 30 to 35 km. Winged designs such as Joby, Archer, Vertical and Eve reach 100 to 160 km, and the BETA ALIA, built around a wing for cargo and medical missions, reaches 460 km.

In practice this means airport to city centre in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, sightseeing in Guangzhou, and short intercity links. Longer trips still belong to helicopters and turboprops.

Watch this space: certification news moves these dots more than engineering does. The first commercial routes will decide which designs become the standard.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

◆ Multicopters: certified first, shortest range.

◆ Winged eVTOL: 100 to 460 km, still in certification.

◆ First markets: Gulf airports, Chinese tourism, short intercity routes.

ANALYSIS

Eight cargo drones and cargo eVTOL with published range and payload. They span the widest range of any group: from Wing delivering 1.4 kg within about 10 km to the Dronamics Black Swan carrying 350 kg over 2 500 km.

Heavy-lift multicopters such as the Griff 300 and DJI FlyCart 100 lift 100 to 227 kg but only over 12 to 15 km. They replace cranes, trucks and helicopters on mountain, island and construction jobs.

Winged cargo drones change the picture. The AutoFlight CarryAll is certified in China for 400 kg over 250 km, and the Black Swan targets same-day cargo across Europe. They compete with small cargo aircraft, not with delivery drones.

Delivery networks like Wing and Zipline carry little but fly thousands of times a day. Their value is in frequency and speed to the door, not in tonnes moved per flight.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

◆ Multicopter drones: heavy loads, very short range.

◆ Winged cargo drones: 250 to 2 500 km, the next cargo category.

◆ Delivery drones: tiny loads, huge frequency.

HOW WE COUNTED

Range: published maximum range from the manufacturer, converted to kilometres. For freighters, range at maximum payload where published. For eVTOL, manufacturer targets.

Commercial load: for passenger aircraft, helicopters and passenger eVTOL, maximum passengers multiplied by 100 kg, a common planning weight for one passenger with bags. For freighters and drones, published maximum payload.

Capability index: load in tonnes multiplied by range in km. It is a simple way to rank what an aircraft can move and how far in one flight. Maximum load and maximum range rarely happen on the same flight, so treat it as a comparison tool, not a performance figure.

Not included: models with no published range or seats (Falcon 10X, Wisk Gen 6, VoloXPro, JOUAV CW-80E, Harris H6 HL, Alta X) and the Aridge flying car, whose range is quoted on the road. Data as of October 2026.

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