Private Jet Timphou to Bakersfield

Paro International Airport, the only international gateway to Bhutan and one of aviation’s most demanding approaches, threading between Himalayan peaks, is the departure point for a 6,700 nautical mile journey to Bakersfield, California, a distance that requires an ultra-long-range aircraft such as the Gulfstream G650ER or Bombardier Global 7500 to bridge in a single sector, cruising near 45,000 feet once clear of the mountainous terrain surrounding Paro. Thimphu, Bhutan’s capital, remains one of the few in the world without a single traffic light, its Buddhist monasteries, dzongs and famously low-impact approach to tourism setting it apart from almost anywhere else a private jet might depart. The flight climbs out over the Himalayas before tracking across South and Southeast Asia, the Pacific and the American West Coast, a journey of roughly twelve and a half hours that makes a proper bed, full galley service and genuine cabin privacy important considerations given the duration and considerable time-zone shift involved. Landing at Meadows Field Airport brings passengers into Bakersfield, the commercial hub of Kern County’s oil and agricultural economy, a flat valley of orchards and pumpjacks that offers about as complete a contrast to Bhutan’s mountain kingdom as any two points on this network. This route serves a very select group of travellers, often linked to conservation, diplomatic or high-end tourism interests, whose journeys bridge Bhutan and California’s Central Valley, and given the total absence of scheduled commercial service connecting these two specific points, a private charter is the only realistic way to complete the journey without the multiple long-haul connections through South Asian and American hubs that would otherwise stretch the trip well beyond a day and a half.