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 →DAHER
The Daher TBM 960 is the fastest single-engine turboprop in production — 330 kts cruise, fully-digital Garmin G3000 deck and Pratt & Whitney PT6E-66XT engine with autothrottle.
FULL DAHER TBM 960 PAGE →SPECIFICATIONS
| METRIC | King Air 260 | TBM 960 |
|---|---|---|
| Passengers | 8 | 5 |
| Range | 1,720 nm | 1,730 nm |
| Cruise speed | 310 kts | 330 kts |
| Cabin height | 4'9" | 4'0" |
| Cabin width | 4'6" | 3'11" |
| Baggage | 55 cu ft | 16 cu ft |
| Runway | 2,950 ft | 2,380 ft |
CHARTER PRICING
| Zurich → St Moritz (Samedan) | from CHF 3,900 |
| Miami → Key West | from $3,400 |
| Teterboro → Martha's Vineyard | from $4,800 |
| Munich → Innsbruck | from €4,200 |
All-inclusive indicative one-way pricing. Confirmed quote in 10 minutes.
EXPERT VERDICT
The King Air 260 pulls ahead on cabin comfort and group capacity; the TBM 960 answers with range / non-stop reach 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
TBM 960
1,730 nm of range — the better choice for transcontinental and intercontinental missions.
Cabin comfort
King Air 260
Taller and/or wider cabin (4'9" × 4'6") — better for long flights and stand-up movement.
Group capacity
King Air 260
Seats up to 8 — the right pick when the manifest grows.
Airport access
TBM 960
Shorter 2,380 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 TBM 960: the deciding reasons in this matchup, plus the buyer archetypes each aircraft serves best.
BEECHCRAFT
BEST FOR
Larger party charters
Up to 8 seats vs 5 on the TBM 960 — the natural pick when the manifest grows last-minute.
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.
DAHER
BEST FOR
Short-field departures
2,380 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.
Cargo-heavy missions
Large cabin door and floor loading for ski, dive and field-kit travel.
PROS & CONS
BEECHCRAFT
PROS
CONS
DAHER
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 (2,380 ft) opens up the airfield.
SEE FULL AIRCRAFT →SCENARIO 02
Shorter runway requirement (2,380 ft) opens up the airfield.
SEE FULL AIRCRAFT →SCENARIO 03
Shorter runway requirement (2,380 ft) opens up the airfield.
SEE FULL AIRCRAFT →SCENARIO 04
Shorter runway requirement (2,380 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 Daher TBM 960 is rated at 1,730 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 330 kts for the Daher TBM 960. 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 Daher TBM 960 seats 5. 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, Daher TBM 960 from from $4,800. 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 × TBM 960 CLUSTER
CHARTER EITHER AIRCRAFT
EDITORIAL GUIDES
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