Private jet from Dallas Love Field to Cabo San Lucas: times, prices, Mexico permits and customs

What goes into the price

On a flight of two and a half hours the flying is the largest part of the bill, and positioning is the second. The paperwork is the third, and unlike the first two it is mostly invisible.

Positioning. An aircraft that takes you to Los Cabos usually has to come back empty, or stay with you, and in winter many jets are already in Mexico. A one-way price therefore tends to carry well over half of the round trip. Dallas has a deep supply of charter aircraft, which keeps the first leg cheap.

Mexican permits and handling. A US operator flying a charter to Mexico needs approval from Mexico’s civil aviation authority. Trade sources describe a blanket permit for the operator and a separate approval for each flight, with about 10 business days of lead time for a charter flight. Handling at Los Cabos is quoted per trip. Jake asks the operator what it holds before it quotes, because the operators who already hold a permit are the ones who can move quickly.

International tax. International flights pay a US arrival and departure tax of $23.40 per passenger each way in 2026, instead of the 7.5% domestic excise tax.

The rest is the usual: handling at Love Field, catering and, in some cases, de-icing on a winter departure.

What makes this route cheaper or more expensive

Season. Los Cabos is busiest in the winter months, when peak-season delays at the airport commandant’s office (the Comandancia) are longest, and holiday weeks are the most expensive. Summer is usually quieter, but it is hurricane season (see below).

Day and time. Fridays and Sundays are the heaviest, and a mid-week departure is easier.

Aircraft size. Every category flies the route in about the same time. A larger jet adds comfort, not speed, and costs more per hour.

Empty legs on this route

Aircraft often fly to Los Cabos full and come back empty, and the reverse at the end of a season. That is how empty legs arise, and it is broker experience, not a published statistic. Charter Jet One’s figure for the saving on an empty leg is up to 75%. On an international route it matters more than usual, because the operator’s permits and the customs arrangements have to match the day.

These are illustrative. They aren’t flights for sale. They run on the operator’s timing and can change at short notice.

Flights actually on offer are posted on our empty legs page as operators release them, and one-way charters and empty legs explains where the discount comes from.

Departing from Dallas Love Field

Love Field is owned by the City of Dallas, about five miles northwest of downtown. Its runways are 8,800 feet (13R/31L) and 7,752 feet (13L/31R), both with instrument landing systems.

• FBOs. Atlantic Aviation, Business Jet, Jet Aviation and Signature, which has four terminals (Terminal 3 serves charter customers only).
• Noise. There is no curfew. Jets and aircraft over 12,500 pounds are asked to use runway 13R/31L between 9 pm and 6 am.
• Customs on the way home. Love Field is a US customs user-fee airport. Customs meets the aircraft at a shared inspection facility that is not attached to any one FBO. You are processed there and leave directly. Inspections are generally available around the clock by arrangement, and Mobile Passport Control for eligible travellers was deployed at Love Field’s general aviation facilities in September 2026.
• Alternatives. Addison has a 7,203-foot runway, three FBOs and its own customs. DFW is a landing-rights airport and is rarely the right choice for a leisure trip. The airport is usually chosen by driving time.

Arriving in Los Cabos

The airport. Los Cabos International Airport (SJD, ICAO MMSD) has one runway of about 9,800 feet. The general aviation terminal is at the north end, about 15 minutes by car from San José del Cabo. The airport at Cabo San Lucas itself (MMSL) is a different, privately run field that most charter jets don’t use.

The FBO. There is one, PrimeSky, operated by the airport group, with customs and immigration on site. Hours are posted by third-party listings as roughly 7 am to 8 pm on weekdays; confirm them for your day of travel.

Customs and immigration. All passengers, crew and baggage deplane and clear on arrival, and bags are screened. A digital tourist form is issued at the immigration counter. The operator’s handler files and walks the flight plan. Peak-season delays at the airport commandant’s office (the Comandancia), which handles customs, immigration and flight plans, can reach 40 minutes.

Ground transport. Jake arranges the car or the transfer to the hotel in Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo or the corridor between.

Entering Mexico

• Passports. A valid passport for everyone. A US passport card is not valid for international air travel.
• Entry. A tourist stay is up to 180 days. A digital tourist form (FMM) is generated at the immigration counter.
• Safety. The US State Department rates Mexico Level 2 (“exercise increased caution”) and Baja California Sur Level 2, as of May 2026. Read the current advisory before you book. For the airspace, the FAA has separately advised US operators to use caution over Mexico’s Pacific and Gulf of California waters until March 2027; see what the FAA’s Mexico Pacific advisory means.

Coming home

The US side matters more than most clients expect, because customs controls when the aircraft can land.

• The operator files manifests. For a charter, customs treats the flight as commercial: the passenger manifest is due 30 minutes before the aircraft is secured, and the crew manifest 60 minutes before departure. Passengers do not file anything, but they must give the operator their passport details in advance.
• Permission to land. The operator must contact Love Field customs no later than one hour before departing Los Cabos. For arrivals outside weekday office hours, the call must be made by 4:30 pm Central the previous working day (the Friday before a weekend or holiday).
• Arrivals from Mexico have an extra rule. Under 19 CFR 122.23 to 122.25, an aircraft arriving from Mexico must, unless CBP grants an exemption, first land for processing at a designated airport near the border or coast. The operator confirms with CBP whether the flight can clear at Love Field directly, and this is worth asking before the trip is confirmed. The border rules map the designated airports.
• At the ramp. Customs meets the aircraft at the inspection facility. Passengers bring passports and any declarations, and report more than $14,500 in cash or monetary instruments.
• Pets. Tell the operator in advance, so it can tell customs when it asks for permission to land. Dogs have to meet CDC requirements.

A tail change, an added passenger or a late manifest means new permission. That is why a replacement aircraft on an international trip takes longer than on a domestic one, and why Jake asks for the passenger list early.

Hurricane season

The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 to November 30, and most storms arrive between late June and early October. In September 2014, Hurricane Odile made landfall just east of Cabo San Lucas at 110 knots, the first major hurricane on the peninsula in 25 years, and the National Hurricane Center says flights were suspended for about a month. A summer or early autumn trip is not unusual, but it needs a plan: a flexible date, a refund-or-reroute term and a watch on the forecast.

Which aircraft fits best

A light jet such as a Phenom 300E suits four to six people and flies the trip nonstop with range to spare. A midsize jet fits families and golf bags comfortably. A super-midsize adds comfort on the outbound leg into the wind. A turboprop such as a Pilatus PC-12 saves money and is slower by about 45 minutes. A very light jet is near the limit of its range with a full cabin and is rarely the right choice.

How Jake handles this route

Jake starts with the operator’s Mexican permits, because they decide who can fly the trip and how soon. He then confirms the customs plan for the return: which Dallas airport, which hours and who calls whom, along with the passenger passport details the manifests need. He confirms the operator is ARGUS Gold or Platinum rated, arranges the car on the ramp at Love Field and the transfer in Los Cabos, and plans a fallback in hurricane season.