Citation Latitude
Great range and spacious amenities (pictured above)
The Citation Latitude sets itself apart from other Citations with its near 3,000-mile range, allowing it to make a nonstop trip from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine in five hours. It’s Cessna’s first super-midsize cabin, offering room for as many as nine passengers, though operators rarely carry more than six, seeing as how the aircraft can carry five passengers with full fuel, but each additional passenger reduces the Latitude’s range by about 55 miles. Its belted lav, the largest of any Citation model, is worth bragging about, too. Check out a quick tour of the Latitude’s lav here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhTZRAFNYwg Also worth mentioning, the Latitude is Cessna’s first flat-floor model.
Citation Sovereign
Low operations costs and unprecedented runway performance
In order to fill a need between the Excel and XLS models and the Citation X, Cessna produced the Citation Sovereign. Its runway performance is significantly better than its competitors, and its direct operating costs are cheaper than the X by close to $700 an hour. Its range is only a couple hundred miles shorter than that of the Latitude, able to make the trip from Los Angeles to Hawaii with relative ease. For a plane of its size, the runway performance is unrivaled, able to takeoff with just 3,715 feet of runway.
[ulp id=’BE6pmlq8yQI913DS’]
Citation XLS
Super versatile, making it a popular charter aircraft
Cessna’s Citation Excel line, including the Excel, XLS and XLS+, is one of the best-selling business jets of all time. Its versatility gives it a huge market, based on its ability to operate out of smaller airports with short runways while offering the comfort and amenities of a midsize jet. In fact, its runway performance is the best of any midsize jet. Although it’s a full 12 feet shorter than the Sovereign, the XLS can still comfortably seat seven passengers in its stand-up cabin. It also features a full refreshment center in addition to the largest baggage compartment of any midsize jet.
Citation X
Unrivaled speed and ramp presence
Before the Citation X+ hit the market, the original Citation X was the fastest civilian aircraft in the world with a cruise speed of about 511 knots. Before the X, Cessna’s Citation line was rumored to have been nicknamed “Slowtation.” Despite Cessna’s efforts to produce business jets that matched its rivals’ speed, the name stuck. The X changed all that when it took the title of the world’s fastest civilian aircraft. Because of its reputation for speed and a sleek design, the Citation X is a neck breaker on runways, no doubt turning heads at every stop.
Citation CJ2
Simplicity and practicality
The CJ2 is the only single-pilot aircraft on our list, and that’s a big reason why it’s on here. Its operational simplicity allows it to be flown by a single pilot, making travel easier and less expensive on its owners and operators. The CJ2 was designed with the owner-operator in mind, outfitted with a number of automated systems and a user-friendly avionics system in the Collins ProLine 21. Its simplicity and practicality allows owner-operators to fly wherever they want, whenever they want. For owners that don’t fly, only having to deal with one pilot still offers significant flexibility.
