Oprah Winfrey's Gulfstream G700 flies Burbank to Santa Barbara in 26 minutes

Oprah Winfrey's Gulfstream G700, tail number N540W, departed Hollywood Burbank Airport (KBUR) at 21:02 UTC on Saturday, November 14, 2026, and landed at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (KSBA) at 21:27 UTC. The flight took 26 minutes, covering a great-circle distance of 77 nautical miles (89 miles, 143 km). The aircraft averaged 181 knots ground speed and reached a highest altitude of 6,000 feet and a top ground speed of 283 knots. The G700 burned an estimated 192 US gallons of fuel, producing about 1,844 kg (1.8 metric tons) of CO2, roughly equal to driving a car 4,565 miles. The G700 is an ultra-long-range jet with a range of 7,750 nm, a top speed of Mach 0.935, a ceiling of 51,000 feet, and seating for 12 to 19 passengers.

The Gulfstream G700 has the largest cabin of any Gulfstream, with five living areas. It was certified in 2023. The aircraft's tail number, N540W, combines Oprah Winfrey's birth year, 1954, with her surname initial. This is the sixth aircraft to wear that registration. Earlier N540Ws included a Gulfstream IV, Global Express XRS, G550, and G650/G650ER.

This was the eighth landing at Santa Barbara in the tracked window of 38 flights since July 22, 2026. The previous Santa Barbara landing was on October 6, 2026, 39 days earlier. Santa Barbara Municipal Airport is the aircraft's home base, and the most common destinations in that window were Santa Barbara (8 landings), Telluride (5 landings), and Teterboro (4 landings). Before this trip, the aircraft had been on the ground for about 1 hour. Its previous tracked landing was on November 14, 2026, at Burbank, after a 4-hour 59-minute flight from Teterboro covering 2,124 nm.

In the 30 days before this flight, the aircraft visited three airports in one country and flew about 3,966 nautical miles. It logged two flights totaling 8.6 hours in the air, producing an estimated 37,198 kg of CO2. The flight from Burbank to Santa Barbara used about 1 percent of the aircraft's range.

Oprah Winfrey is a media mogul, retired talk-show host, and philanthropist with a net worth of about $3.2 to $4.6 billion. She owns 'The Promised Land' in Montecito, California, plus more than 1,000 acres on Maui and a Telluride retreat. Santa Barbara Municipal Airport is the closest major private-jet airport to her Montecito estate, which she purchased for about $50 million and is now valued at over $100 million. No public appearance or event tied to Oprah Winfrey was found near Santa Barbara on or around the landing date.

Santa Barbara Municipal Airport has a longest runway of 6,037 feet at an elevation of 13 feet. Burbank's longest runway is 6,886 feet at 778 feet elevation. The aircraft's usual destinations include Kahului Airport in Maui, Van Nuys Airport, Teterboro Airport, Chicago Midway, Las Vegas, and Palm Beach. The Santa Barbara-to-Maui corridor is its heaviest route.

The aircraft is now parked at Santa Barbara. Its next movement will be tracked when it takes off again.