A head-to-head look at two of the most-chartered aircraft in the turboprop class.
BEECHCRAFT
The Beechcraft King Air 260 is the next-generation King Air 250 — modernised Collins Pro Line Fusion flight deck, refreshed cabin and the proven short-runway capability of the King Air family.
FULL BEECHCRAFT KING AIR 260 PAGE →PILATUS
The Pilatus PC-12 NGX is the latest evolution of the world's best-selling single-engine turboprop — Pratt & Whitney PT6E engine with autothrottle, larger windows and a digital BMW Designworks cabin.
FULL PILATUS PC-12 NGX PAGE →SPECIFICATIONS
| METRIC | King Air 260 | PC-12 NGX |
|---|---|---|
| Passengers | 8 | 6–9 |
| Range | 1,720 nm | 1,803 nm |
| Cruise speed | 310 kts | 290 kts |
| Cabin height | 4'9" | 4'10" |
| Cabin width | 4'6" | 5'0" |
| Baggage | 55 cu ft | 40 cu ft |
| Runway | 2,950 ft | 2,485 ft |
CHARTER PRICING
| Zurich → St Moritz (Samedan) | from CHF 3,900 |
| Miami → Key West | from $3,400 |
| Aspen → Telluride | from $5,200 |
| London → Le Touquet | from £4,800 |
All-inclusive indicative one-way pricing. Confirmed quote in 10 minutes.
EXPERT VERDICT
the PC-12 NGX answers with range / non-stop reach, cabin comfort, group capacity and airport access. Both sit in the turboprop class, so charter pricing is broadly aligned — let the use case (range, group size, airport pair) drive the final call.
Range / non-stop reach
PC-12 NGX
1,803 nm of range — the better choice for transcontinental and intercontinental missions.
Cabin comfort
PC-12 NGX
Taller and/or wider cabin (4'10" × 5'0") — better for long flights and stand-up movement.
Group capacity
PC-12 NGX
Seats up to 9 — the right pick when the manifest grows.
Airport access
PC-12 NGX
Shorter 2,485 ft balanced-field requirement — opens up restricted alpine, island and city-adjacent airfields.
Speed & block time
Even
Comparable on this dimension.
Verdict based on published manufacturer specifications, charter market data and Limitless Sky brokerage experience.
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CHOOSE WITH CONFIDENCE
A tailored summary for the King Air 260 and PC-12 NGX: the deciding reasons in this matchup, plus the buyer archetypes each aircraft serves best.
BEECHCRAFT
BEST FOR
Island & alpine access
Short, unpaved or high-altitude strips that jets simply cannot use.
Sub-500 nm hops
Operating cost per seat-mile beats every jet on quick regional legs.
Cargo-heavy missions
Large cabin door and floor loading for ski, dive and field-kit travel.
Medevac & utility
Stretcher and rapid-reconfig layouts for time-critical lifts.
PILATUS
BEST FOR
Larger party charters
Up to 9 seats vs 8 on the King Air 260 — the natural pick when the manifest grows last-minute.
Short-field departures
2,485 ft balanced field unlocks airports the King Air 260 cannot use, putting passengers closer to the door.
Island & alpine access
Short, unpaved or high-altitude strips that jets simply cannot use.
Sub-500 nm hops
Operating cost per seat-mile beats every jet on quick regional legs.
PROS & CONS
BEECHCRAFT
PROS
CONS
PILATUS
PROS
CONS
REAL-WORLD MISSIONS
Four scenarios our charter desk sees regularly — and which of these two we would actually quote.
SCENARIO 01
Shorter runway requirement (2,485 ft) opens up the airfield.
SEE FULL AIRCRAFT →SCENARIO 02
Shorter runway requirement (2,485 ft) opens up the airfield.
SEE FULL AIRCRAFT →SCENARIO 03
Shorter runway requirement (2,485 ft) opens up the airfield.
SEE FULL AIRCRAFT →SCENARIO 04
Shorter runway requirement (2,485 ft) opens up the airfield.
SEE FULL AIRCRAFT →ROUTE RECOMMENDATIONS
| ROUTE | DISTANCE | RECOMMENDED | WHY |
|---|---|---|---|
| London → Le Touquet | 120 nm | Either | Both aircraft fly this comfortably non-stop — choose on cabin and price. |
| Zurich → St Moritz | 95 nm | Either | Both aircraft fly this comfortably non-stop — choose on cabin and price. |
| Aspen → Telluride | 115 nm | Either | Both aircraft fly this comfortably non-stop — choose on cabin and price. |
| Nantucket → Teterboro | 180 nm | Either | Both aircraft fly this comfortably non-stop — choose on cabin and price. |
Distances are great-circle approximations; actual fuel planning accounts for winds, weather and reserves.
FAQ
The Beechcraft King Air 260 has a published range of 1,720 nm; the Pilatus PC-12 NGX is rated at 1,803 nm. The longer-range aircraft opens up more non-stop city pairs without a tech stop.
Cruise speeds are 310 kts for the Beechcraft King Air 260 and 290 kts for the Pilatus PC-12 NGX. On a Zurich → St Moritz (Samedan)-style mission the faster aircraft typically saves 10–25 minutes block time.
The Beechcraft King Air 260 seats 8; the Pilatus PC-12 NGX seats 6–9. Charter prices below assume a typical executive layout — high-density configurations are available on request.
Indicative one-way pricing on a benchmark mission: Beechcraft King Air 260 from from CHF 3,900, Pilatus PC-12 NGX from from $5,200. Confirmed quote in 10 minutes — pricing varies with empty-leg availability, season and routing.
Both belong to the Turboprop category, but range, payload and runway performance differ. See the route-recommendations table on this page for our specific pick per corridor.
MORE COMPARISONS
KING AIR 260 × PC-12 NGX CLUSTER
CHARTER EITHER AIRCRAFT
EDITORIAL GUIDES
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