Hawker 900XP charter
The most common private jet at Oakland County International. If you charter out of Pontiac, this is the aircraft you are most likely to be offered — and the one with the constraint nobody mentions at quoting time.
Figures below are typical for the type; individual aircraft vary.
Send the trip and the bag list. We will tell you whether a Hawker works for it, and what does if it does not.
See your estimate first. Nothing is sent until you choose to send it.
Why you will be offered one
Over a recent sixty-day window at Oakland County International, the Hawker 900XP recorded 254 departures — more than double the next most common type. It is not close.
That concentration is not an accident. Several operators based in and around Southeast Michigan run Hawkers, which means the aircraft is frequently already here rather than needing to be flown in. On a quote, an aircraft that is already at your departure airport avoids two positioning legs, and those legs are often a larger share of the cost than anything else on the invoice.
So when a Hawker comes back cheapest on a Michigan trip, it is usually cheapest for a real reason rather than because someone is cutting a corner. That is worth knowing, and so is the reason it might not suit you.
| Most common types at PTK | Departures | Avg. sector |
|---|---|---|
| Hawker 900XP | 254 | 383 nm |
| Phenom 300 | 114 | 302 nm |
| Challenger 350 | 79 | 457 nm |
| Citation Latitude | 77 | 488 nm |
| Citation CJ3+ | 74 | 403 nm |
Private jet departures from KPTK over a sixty-day period ending September 2026. Types with fewer than seventy departures omitted.
What the Hawker does better than anything in its class
This is not a warning page. On the right trip the 900XP is the best value in the midsize market, and there are three specific reasons.
The cabin is the tallest and widest in the class
21.3 feet long, a full 6 feet wide, and just under 6 feet tall thanks to a dropped-aisle design. If you have tall passengers, this is the aircraft that stops being a compromise. A Learjet 60XR is materially tighter across the shoulders.
Hot-and-high performance
The 900XP’s engines were the whole point of the upgrade over the 850XP, and they show up on hot days and at altitude. It holds its numbers where other midsize aircraft start losing payload.
It frequently prices below its category
A well-kept Hawker often comes back cheaper than a Citation of similar size, and on a Michigan trip it is often already here. On a two-hour leg with six aboard and normal luggage, it is hard to beat.
Genuine stand-up comfort with a real lavatory
An enclosed aft lavatory and a proper galley rather than a cabinet. On a two to three hour leg that difference is felt more than the specification sheet suggests.
Double-club seating with a three-place divan is the common layout. Individual aircraft differ, and a divan changes both the seat count and the weight.
Range is not what limits this aircraft
With all eight seats occupied the 900XP flies about 2,733 nautical miles. The furthest point in the continental United States from Pontiac is Los Angeles, at 1,712. Every corner of the country is nonstop with a full cabin, and by more than a thousand miles of margin.
Great-circle distances from Oakland County International (PTK). Every destination shown is inside the 900XP’s range with eight passengers aboard. Real routings add distance for weather and airways, and headwinds cost range westbound — but none of that changes the conclusion.
Eight seats, five people’s worth of capacity
The Hawker’s limitation is not the cabin. It is what you can put in it, and it bites in two separate ways that compound each other.
The hold is half what the seat count implies
About 49 to 50 cubic feet, capped at roughly 395 pounds. A Citation XLS+ seats the same eight people and carries about 90. In practice the Hawker takes five full-size cases, or four cases and two sets of golf clubs — not eight people’s luggage for a week in Florida.
Payload with full fuel is about 1,620 pounds
That is a crew of two and five passengers at average weight, before a single bag goes aboard. Fill the tanks for a long leg and the cabin capacity falls away; fill the cabin and the range does. On a short trip this never comes up. On a Florida run with eight aboard it decides the trip.
Nobody raises it at quoting time
A quote lists seats and range. Neither number tells you the aircraft cannot carry both at once. This is the single most common reason a booking goes wrong at the aircraft rather than at the price, and it is entirely avoidable by asking one question.
The same arithmetic applies to every aircraft, which is why there is a baggage and runway comparison for thirty-four types with a calculator that does it for your actual group and bag list.
Hawker 900XP specifications
Typical figures for the type. Individual aircraft vary with configuration, and a divan or an extra seat changes both the count and the weight.
| Passengers | 8 standard, 9 on some tails |
| Cabin length | 21.3 ft |
| Cabin width | 6.0 ft |
| Cabin height | 5.8 ft, dropped aisle |
| Baggage volume | 49–50 cu ft |
| Baggage weight limit | approx. 395 lb |
| Payload, full fuel | approx. 1,620 lb |
| Range, 8 passengers | 2,733 nm |
| Max cruise | 448–452 kt |
| Takeoff distance | approx. 5,032 ft |
| Landing distance | approx. 3,805 ft |
| Engines | 2 × Honeywell TFE731-50R |
| Avionics | Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 |
| Built | 2007–2013 |
When to take it, and when not to
Take it: business travel, four to six aboard
Briefcases and overnight bags, a one or two hour leg, tall passengers who want to stand up. This is the Hawker’s trip and it does it better and cheaper than most of the alternatives.
Take it: Detroit to New York or Chicago
Short sectors where fuel load is not the issue and the cabin is. The Pontiac to Teterboro run is the single busiest corridor from this airport and the Hawker is the aircraft flying most of it.
Think hard: eight aboard with a week of luggage
Fifty cubic feet across eight people is about six cubic feet each. A Citation XLS+ or a Latitude solves this without costing much more, and it is the swap worth pricing before you commit.
Look elsewhere: golf groups and ski trips
Four sets of clubs is around 56 cubic feet on its own, which is the entire hold before anyone packs a suitcase. A Phenom 300E, Challenger 350 or Citation XLS+ handles this properly.
Not sure which side of that line your trip falls on? Send the route, the passenger count and the bag list. I will tell you whether a Hawker works, and what does if it does not.
Get aircraft optionsHawker 900XP charter
How many passengers does a Hawker 900XP carry?
Eight in a standard double-club layout, with some tails configured for nine. The cabin is 21.3 feet long, 6 feet wide and just under 6 feet tall with a dropped aisle, so it is a genuine stand-up cabin — the most usable in the midsize class. Eight seats is the honest number; whether eight people plus their luggage can actually fly your route is a different question, and it is the one worth asking.
How much luggage fits in a Hawker 900XP?
About 49 to 50 cubic feet, with a weight limit around 395 pounds. In practice that is roughly five full-size cases, or four cases and two sets of golf clubs. It is materially less than a Citation XLS+ at about 90 cubic feet, despite the two aircraft seating the same number of people.
What is the range of a Hawker 900XP?
Up to about 2,900 nautical miles in ideal conditions, and around 2,733 nautical miles with all eight seats occupied. The more useful figure is payload with full fuel: roughly 1,620 pounds, which is a crew of two and five passengers at average weight before you load a single bag. Range and payload trade against each other on this aircraft more than most.
Is the Hawker 900XP a good aircraft?
Yes, and it is popular at Pontiac for good reasons — the tallest and widest cabin in its class, strong hot-and-high performance, and a price that undercuts comparable midsize jets. The caveat is luggage. Size the trip to the hold rather than to the seat count and it is an excellent aircraft.
How much does it cost to charter a Hawker 900XP?
Published hourly rates for the type commonly run in the $4,500 to $6,000 range, though a real quote depends on the operator, the date, where the aircraft is based and the positioning legs needed to bring it to you. We show the operator’s price and our advisory fee as two separate lines so you can see which is which.
What is the difference between a Hawker 800XP and a 900XP?
The 900XP is the later aircraft, built from 2007, with Honeywell TFE731-50R engines that give it more range and better hot-and-high performance than the 800XP. The cabin layout is essentially unchanged. Both carry the same baggage constraint.
Choosing between midsize aircraft for a group of six to eight? There is a fuller comparison of the Citation XLS+, Learjet 60XR and Hawker 800XP.
Send the trip and I will size the aircraft to it.
Route, dates, passenger count and what you are carrying. You get aircraft options with the operating carrier named, its certificate and insurance verified, and the full cost split into the operator’s price and my advisory fee.