A heavy jet is the first class in the fleet where the aircraft is staffed rather than simply flown. Cabin crew travel as standard, the galley can produce hot service through the flight, and the aft divans convert to genuine flat beds. On a seven-hour overnight to Lagos or Dubai that is the difference between arriving ready to work and arriving needing a day.
Range is the other reason to step up. Four thousand two hundred nautical miles covers London to Lagos, London to Dubai and Geneva to the Maldives eastbound, and it does so with the reserves to absorb weather and holding rather than planning to the last kilo of fuel. Westbound transatlantic to New York is inside the envelope for a Falcon 900LX or G450, though winter headwinds can make it tight with a full load.
Heavy jets also carry what long trips require. Baggage holds on this class are pressurised and accessible in flight, and payload is generous enough that ten passengers with hold luggage does not force a fuel compromise — which on smaller aircraft it frequently does.
Representative aircraft
- Dassault Falcon 900LX — 14 seats · trijet · 4,750 nm
- Gulfstream G450 — 14 seats · 4,350 nm · flat-bed divans
- Embraer Legacy 650E — 14 seats · 3,900 nm · three-zone cabin
What it suits
- London–Lagos and Lagos–London nonstop
- London or Paris to Dubai with a full cabin
- Overnight legs where sleep matters
- Ten to fourteen passengers with hold luggage
Routes we fly on this class: Lagos → London · London → Dubai.