Private jet charter from Willow Run (YIP) near Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti
The private airport for Ann Arbor and the western suburbs, eight miles from Detroit Metro and nothing like it. No airline service, a 7,543-foot runway, customs 24 hours on weekdays, and charter aircraft based on the field.
No cost, no obligation. Send the trip and you will get aircraft options, the operating carrier named, and all-in pricing before you decide.
See your estimate first. Nothing is sent until you choose to send it.
What Willow Run actually is
Locals call it Willow Run. The FAA calls it KYIP. It was built to make bombers and now handles cargo, corporate and charter flights, with no airline passengers.
Willow Run opened in 1942 beside Ford’s B-24 Liberator plant, which built more than 8,000 bombers there during the war. It carried airline passengers until the 1960s. Today the Wayne County Airport Authority runs it, the same authority that runs Detroit Metro, as a reliever airport for freight, corporate and general aviation traffic, on about 2,400 acres straddling Ypsilanti and Van Buren townships.
What makes it useful for charter is what is based there. Part 135 charter operators and cargo airlines keep aircraft on the field. More aircraft on the field means more chances that the right one needs no positioning to reach you, and more empty legs flying in and out.
Scheduled passenger airline service is restricted at Willow Run, so there is no terminal, no TSA line and no airline schedule competing for the ramp. You drive to the FBO, park and board.
Runways, and why that decides your aircraft
Runway length is the first thing that rules an aircraft in or out. At Willow Run the main runway rules nothing out.
| Runway | Length | Width | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 / 23 | 7,543 ft | 150 ft | The primary. Grooved concrete. Any business jet, including large-cabin aircraft leaving heavy. |
| 9 / 27 | 5,001 ft | 100 ft | Light jets, turboprops and most midsize aircraft. |
At 7,543 feet, Willow Run is longer than Pontiac’s 6,521. That rarely changes a trip, but it helps a large-cabin jet leaving full for the West Coast or Europe on a hot day. The destination is still usually the constraint, and the numbers aircraft by aircraft are in the runway and baggage comparison.
When Willow Run is the right airport
Start with the drive. If you are in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Canton, Plymouth, Saline or Downriver, Willow Run is almost always nearer than Pontiac, and it is the easier private airport compared with Detroit Metro.
| Willow Run — YIP | Pontiac — PTK | Detroit Metro — DTW | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longest runway | 7,543 ft | 6,521 ft | 12,003 ft |
| Airline passengers | None | None | Major hub |
| US Customs | User fee, 24 hrs weekdays, weekends on request | User fee, weekdays 7am–10pm | Yes |
| Charter aircraft on the field | Yes | Many | Some |
| Nearest for | Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, western Wayne, Washtenaw | Oakland County | Downriver, airline connections |
Willow Run rarely costs more than Pontiac, and it can cost less. An aircraft based on the field needs no positioning. One based at Pontiac is only 26 nautical miles away. Willow Run is also about 25 nautical miles closer to Florida than Pontiac, which trims a few minutes off every southbound leg. I check both airports on every quote for anyone south and west of the metro and show you any difference as its own line.
Detroit Metro is the right answer in one situation: a charter that has to meet an airline flight on the same trip. For everything else, Willow Run gives you the same side of town without the airline airport.
FBOs, customs and what happens when you arrive
Willow Run has three FBO locations, all open 24 hours. The one you use depends on the operator your aircraft comes from. You will get the FBO’s name and street address before the day. Use that, not the airport’s name: the buildings are spread around a large field with separate entrances.
Customs has the best hours in the area. Willow Run is a user-fee customs airport with officers available 24 hours a day on weekdays, and on weekends by request with at least four hours’ notice. Pontiac’s customs closes at 10pm, so for a late return from Cabo, Cancun or the Caribbean on a weeknight, Willow Run is often the airport that lets you clear and go straight home. Permission to land is given for a set arrival time, so the operator files it and updates it if the flight runs late.
Flying out of Willow Run? Send the route and the dates and you will get options with the operating carrier named, the FBO, and all-in pricing.
Get a quote from YIPWhy Willow Run shows up on empty leg lists
Aircraft based at Willow Run fly out empty to pick people up and fly home empty afterward. Each of those legs can be sold, usually well below the normal charter rate, if your dates can move to match it.
Tell me the route and a rough window, and I will send you anything that lines up in or out of Willow Run, Pontiac or Detroit. Empty legs can be canceled if the paying trip moves, so they suit flexible plans best. More on how they work on the empty leg page.
Common trips from Willow Run
Distances are great-circle from YIP, and flying times are typical for a midsize jet. Every one is nonstop in a midsize jet. Whether it is nonstop with your group and your luggage is the question worth asking.
Willow Run to Sarasota
About 893 nm, roughly 2h25m. The busiest winter corridor out of Michigan, and a good one for repositioning legs in either direction.
Willow Run to Naples
About 970 nm, roughly 2h40m. Naples has noise rules that narrow the aircraft list. Fort Myers, about 947 nm, is the fallback fifteen minutes away.
Willow Run to Palm Beach & Boca
About 949 nm to Palm Beach and 967 to Boca Raton, roughly 2h35m to 2h40m. In season, ramp space and slots matter more than range.
Willow Run to Stuart & Fort Lauderdale
About 918 nm to Stuart and 977 to Fort Lauderdale Executive, 2h30m to 2h40m. Straightforward for any midsize jet.
Willow Run to New York & Teterboro
About 433 nm, roughly 1h25m. A light jet does it. Teterboro fills up; Westchester is the usual alternative.
Willow Run to Chicago & Indianapolis
About 190 nm to Midway and 196 to Indianapolis, around an hour. Day-trip distance, where a turboprop or light jet is usually the value choice.
Willow Run to Nashville & Atlanta
About 395 nm to Nashville and 503 to Peachtree-DeKalb in Atlanta, 1h20m to 1h35m. Game weekends and business trips, where bags rarely decide the aircraft.
Willow Run to Aspen & Scottsdale
About 1,074 nm to Aspen and 1,432 to Scottsdale. Aspen’s runway and elevation limit which aircraft can get in, so there the aircraft choice is about performance.
Route guides with airport restrictions and costs: Sarasota, Naples, Palm Beach, Teterboro, Aspen. They are written from Pontiac; the Florida trips are about 25 nm shorter from Willow Run.
A Michigan broker who knows the field
Most companies ranking for “private jet Ann Arbor” are national call centers with a page for every city. YAJ is in Fenton, and I quote Willow Run, Pontiac and Flint against each other on every Southeast Michigan trip, because the right airport changes the price and the drive.
I am also an FAA-certificated private pilot. When an operator says the crew is out of duty time, the winds mean a fuel stop, or the customs window will not work for your arrival, I know whether that is real, and I would rather tell you before you book than after.
You see what I make on every trip. The operator’s price and my advisory fee appear as two separate lines, on a published sliding scale, and I take no commission from any carrier. Other local airports: Pontiac (PTK) and Flint (FNT).
Flying private from Willow Run
Where is Willow Run Airport?
On the border of Ypsilanti and Van Buren townships, about eight nautical miles west of Detroit Metro. It is fifteen to twenty minutes from Ann Arbor and Canton, around twenty from Plymouth, Northville and Saline, and roughly half an hour from Dearborn and downtown Detroit.
Is Willow Run better than Detroit Metro for a private flight?
Usually. Willow Run has no scheduled passenger airline service, so you drive to the FBO, park and board, with no terminal and no airline traffic ahead of you on the ramp. DTW still makes sense when a charter connects with an airline flight on the same trip. For most people coming from Ann Arbor or the western suburbs, Willow Run is the easier airport.
Can I clear customs at Willow Run?
Yes, and it has the widest hours in the area. Willow Run is a user-fee customs airport with officers available 24 hours a day Monday to Friday, and on weekends by request with at least four hours’ notice. Permission to land is given for a specific arrival time, so the operator files ahead and updates it if you are running late. Customs hours change, so this is confirmed for every international trip.
Why does Willow Run come up so often for empty legs?
Because aircraft are based there. A jet based at Willow Run flies out empty to collect passengers elsewhere and flies home empty afterwards, and each of those legs can be sold. That is why YIP shows up on repositioning lists more often than its size suggests. If your dates are flexible, a watch on a YIP route costs nothing.
What size aircraft can use Willow Run?
Anything in business aviation. The main runway, 5/23, is 7,543 feet of grooved concrete, 150 feet wide, and it is longer than anything at Pontiac. The second runway, 9/27, is 5,001 feet, which suits light and midsize aircraft.
How much does a private jet from Willow Run cost?
It is priced like anywhere else: the aircraft, where it is based and how long it flies. A midsize jet from Southeast Michigan to Florida commonly lands in the low-to-mid twenty thousands one way. Willow Run is about 25 nautical miles closer to Florida than Pontiac, and aircraft based on the field need no positioning to reach you. Both of those help slightly.
More on how quoting, vetting and pricing work on the questions page, or see the aircraft guide for six to eight passengers.
Send the trip and I will come back with real options.
Route, dates, passenger count and luggage. You get aircraft options, the operating carrier named, its certificate and insurance verified, and the full cost split into the operator’s price and my fee.