Private jets will no longer be the preserve of the super-rich with the launch of air taxi services that cost only a little more than business-class air fares.

The very light jet, which carries four people and can be hired for less than £1,000 per hour of flying time, makes escaping airport queues possible for millionaires – not only multi-millionaires.

They can turn up at one of more than 1,000 small airports in Europe, walk a few metres to the waiting jet and take off within ten minutes.

There is no circling while waiting for a landing slot or delay at the luggage carousel.

Very light jets cruise at about 400mph (640km/h), twice as fast as propeller-driven aircraft, but are a fraction of the cost of business jets such as the Gulfstream or the Learjet.

The only disadvantage, especially for those who look forward to in-flight drinks, is the absence of a proper lavatory, or sometimes any lavatory at all, in the cabin, which is smaller than a typical family car.

British operators have ordered 200 very light jets, says Ascend, the aviation consultancy. The first should enter service by the end of the year.

The Eclipse, the lightest and, at £900,000, the cheapest of a dozen models in various stages of production, visited Britain yesterday and The Times was given a tour of the aircraft.

It is so light that the two pilots were able to push it into place on the apron at Biggin Hill airport, southeast London.

The leather seats, which offer slightly more legroom than Ryanair, fold forward to allow luggage to be loaded in a cubby hole at the back of the cabin.

Security seems to be optional in the world of private jet travel and there is no cockpit door, or even a screen, between the passengers and the pilots. Tray tables fold out from the wall but there is no one to serve drinks.

This is perhaps just as well, because the Eclipse does not even have what pilots describe as a “gentleman’s relief tube”.

Other very light jets, such as the Citation Mustang, have an emergency potty that can be surrounded by a curtain. But the Eclipse is so small that a similar facility would require the removal of a seat.

Greg Oswald, one of the pilots demonstrating the Eclipse, said: “This is a go-before-you-go aircraft. People travel nonstop for two hours in their cars all the time and don’t even think about it.”

A typical flight in the Eclipse will last an hour but it has a range of 1,500 miles, which would take almost four hours.

One Charter, based at Farnborough airport in Hampshire, is planning to use the Eclipse to commence an air taxi service early next year.

Mike Ryan, One Charter’s chief executive, predicted strong demand for leisure flights. He said: “People will book the Eclipse for special occasions like a birthday for only £1,500. These new jets will halve the cost of private air travel, bringing it within the range of millionaires rather than just multi-millionaires.”

Mr Ryan said that very light jets could use more than 1,000 small airports across Europe where the runways were too small for scheduled flights. The Eclipse requires a runway of just over 700 metres, half the length for the Boeing 737 typically used by shorthaul airlines.

George Galanopoulos, the managing director of London Executive Aviation, which has ordered seven Mustangs, said: “I have been in the private jet business for 15 years and I have never seen such strong demand.”

With private jet flights rising by 10 per cent a year in Britain, more than twice as fast as scheduled flights, many small airports are seeking planning permission to expand.

Flights increased by 26 per cent in the first three months of this year at Farnborough airport, which caters only for private jets. The airport has applied to double the number of flights at weekends, despite opposition from people living under flight paths.

Brandon O’Reilly, the airport’s chief executive, said: “If you have paid thousands of pounds for a business-class ticket but find yourself standing in a security queue at Heathrow, wouldn’t you rather be in your own jet?”

‘Nice is £6,000 return but I save a day’s work’

Vince Nicholls has six children but still tries to avoid spending the night away on business.

He spends about £40,000 a year on private jet travel within Europe, making between six and ten return journeys.

“I’ve often arrived at my destination in less time than it takes to clear security at Gatwick and Heathrow. I live ten minutes from Biggin Hill and can park a very short walk away from where the aircraft is waiting. I just flash my passport and off we go.” He said there were no security checkpoints at about half the airports he uses.

“When I finish my meeting, the aircraft is ready to leave. There is no worry about missing the last flight and having to stay overnight.”

Mr Nicholls, 47, who works for Griffin Corporate Finance, often has to fly at short notice.

He said that no one had ever accused him of extravagance because people recognised the value of the time he saves.

“It costs around £6,000 to fly to Nice but you can do a full day’s work and only be away for one day. Flying with airlines, the same trip would take two days. It depends how you value a day.

“It’s most cost-effective if a group of you fly.” He recently flew with a group on a day trip from London involving stops at Birmingham, Swindon and Southampton. “Road congestion would make that impossible in a car.”

Mr Nicholls is looking forward to cheaper private flights on very light jets, but said that he would be reluctant to use the Eclipse because of the absence of a lavatory. “You most want to go when you know you can’t,” he said.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• TV bidding war starts over Olympics
• Sofas were larger than life in TV adverts
• Driver pays fine with wheelbarrow of pennies