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In a Swiss001 video, he said that the Twin Otter was a general aviation (GA) plane. But then in another video, he said that the Twin Otter was an airliner. Obviously, he's not a credible source, but it does make me wonder: Can airliners be GA aircraft planes at the same time?

(I mean, some airlines do operate King Airs to remote destinations)

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    $\begingroup$ Who said this, in which videos? Why is he not a credible source? $\endgroup$
    – CatchAsCatchCan
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 21:39
  • $\begingroup$ @CatchAsCatchCan: I don't remember the videos, and obviously he is not a credible source because he is a youtube that creates gaming videos, and not an educational channel, and even some educational channels might be uncredible $\endgroup$
    – Air Canada 001
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 21:45
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    $\begingroup$ Why is it obvious that 'he is not a credible source'? I have no idea who you're talking about. Either explain properly where you got your references so that we can follow the train of thought, or consider whether you can reword the question to omit the noise. $\endgroup$
    – CatchAsCatchCan
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 21:57
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    $\begingroup$ See also At what point does an aircraft become an airliner? $\endgroup$
    – Greg Hewgill
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 21:58
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    $\begingroup$ @CatchAsCatchCan Presumably, he isn't a credible source because he has no relevant credentials that might give him credibility. In other words, why would a gaming channel YouTuber be regarded as an authority on terminology relating to a subject they have likely not studied in any formal capacity? I think that statement doesn't merit any further justification, nor would such justification actually be useful to the question. $\endgroup$
    – Klaycon
    Commented May 26, 2020 at 20:00

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GA refers to why you fly your plane, not what kind of plane it is. For example, John Travolta has (had?) his own personal Boeing 707, which is the first generation of jet airliner from Boeing. When he flew it, it was not under scheduled service, so it would be classified as a "general aviation" flight.

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    $\begingroup$ Yes, this. And we have a local airline that flies Cessna 206s. $\endgroup$
    – Michael Hall
    Commented May 25, 2020 at 3:23
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    $\begingroup$ And who is after big things buy A380. I am not sure if it is really not for charter flights or something the like but as it is for "undisclosed customer" who imagine "cannot wait" (and airlines can?), I think this is likely. Then that huge aircraft would join the fleet of general aviation. $\endgroup$
    – h22
    Commented May 25, 2020 at 9:58
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    $\begingroup$ @Sean Military flights are not considered as GA because, among other things, they don”t have to follow any of the FARS—including Part 91. The president always flies on military aircraft, so no, he’s not flying GA. $\endgroup$
    – JScarry
    Commented May 26, 2020 at 3:36
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    $\begingroup$ The opposite of what you ask about did actually happen in this millennium: When George W. Bush made a surprise Thanksgiving visit to the troops in Iraq, he flew on one of the VC-25As, but they pretended to be an executive jet. It was also one of the rare occasions where the President was not using The Beast to travel by car. Instead, he travelled to the airport in an unmarked car and without a motorcade. He also famously flew to an aircraft carrier using a jet (which then had the callsign Navy One). $\endgroup$
    – Jörg W Mittag
    Commented May 26, 2020 at 18:00
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    $\begingroup$ @JScarry, saying the military doesn't have to follow FARs is a very loose and misleading statement. I am not going to debate details here, but we follow the same rules as everyone else when operating in the National Airspace System. $\endgroup$
    – Michael Hall
    Commented May 26, 2020 at 20:52
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General aviation (GA) is one of several classes of aviation activity, military and commercial being the two other main ones.

The airliner is a class of aircraft designed to carry a significant payload of passengers and perhaps also freight.

Most airliners are used for commercial operation, both scheduled and charter, but not all are.

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I might be a little late here but I don't remember calling the Twin Otter a GA plane. I think I have always considered the Twin Otter an airliner but the word GA plane might have slipped out there. Anyway, for that classification, it doesn't really matter what plane you use but rather what you do with it. The Twin Otter is mostly used as an airliner for example to bring paying passengers to remote islands. If you, a commercial pilot, make money with your flight, and it's scheduled, then it is most likely considered an airliner flight. If you, a ppl pilot, rent a plane and take your family flying, then that's a GA flight - even in a 737.

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    $\begingroup$ Thanks for your contribution and welcome to AviationStackExchange. This is a site mainly for factual answers to questions that can be cited with credible references. To comment on another poster’s post, please use the Comment function once you have enough reputation points. While you are right about the differences in GA and airliner being more about the reason it’s being used, it is not as simple as that. Being such, I am unable to find the term “airliner” in the FAR/AIM. And, airline in reference to a company is not in Parts 91, 135, & 136 under which you can fly commercially. $\endgroup$
    – Dean F.
    Commented Jun 6, 2020 at 22:45
  • $\begingroup$ Although I can not find an official FAA definition of airliner, I would classify an airliner as an aircraft above a certain weight and/or seating capacity used in the service of a scheduled carrier. Others may differ on the definition. But, I have paid lift fees to fly in many Twin Otters for skydiving. None of which I would classify as an airliner. $\endgroup$
    – Dean F.
    Commented Jun 6, 2020 at 22:54

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