2025 FLYING Buyers Guide: Jets

Cirrus reports that owners of its SR piston line are those most likely to step up to its single-engine SF50 Vision Jet—where sales have remained high and steady. While its performance is modest compared to other jets, so is its price. It was designed to be as similar as possible to the SR series and includes what has been proven to be a lifesaving system, the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) as well as top-of-the-line Garmin avionics with Autoland. Sixty-one SF50s were sold in the first three quarters of 2023, with 62 delivered during the same time in 2024.

Textron Aviation reported its jet sales increased slightly, from 118 in the first three quarters of 2023 to 119 in that time in 2024. Despite what we continue to hear from brokers about insurers being uncomfortable insuring owner-flown jets, those prospective owners determined to do so have been willing to comply with the training requirements insurers erect for coverage. Cessna, who pioneered the single-pilot jet market, continues to deliver jets that are owner-flown. 

In the lower end of the light jet market, Cessna announced an upgrade to the Citation M2 Gen2 to Gen3, featuring Garmin’s Autoland, to be delivered in the next two years. In 2024, it began delivering the CJ4 Gen3 with Garmin’s newest electronic flight deck, G3000 PRIME, including Autoland and autothrottles, making Cessna the first user of Garmin’s powerful new avionics. At the top end of the product line, sales of the Citation
Latitude increased from 28 to 32 in the first three quarters of 2024 over 2023, while the Citation 700 Longitude remained constant at 18 for both time periods.

The upper end of the bizjet world remains competitive as ever with Gulfstream and Bombardier duking it out with ever-longer-legged offerings with roomy, comfortable cabins and aircraft systems sophisticated enough to provide secure living quarters for a few days in locations where occupants would prefer to not to leave the airport. Bombardier sold 37 of its smaller widebody Challenger 650s and 3500s in the first three quarters of 2023. That number jumped to 45 during the same time in 2024. Looking at the top of its line, the Global 5500, 6000, 6500, and 7,700-nm-range Global 7500, sales were steady, with a total of 43 in 2023 and 44 in 2024. With a max cruise of Mach .925, the Global 7500 is the fastest of the Bombardier jets. 

Direct competitor Gulfstream also fought through supply chain issues and expanded its production. It sold 13 of its 10-passenger, Mach .85 G280s in the first three quarters of 2023. Capable of carrying 10 passengers with a max range of 3,600 nm, with the lowest cabin altitude in its class, G280 production bumped to 15 during the same time in 2024. From what we can see, customers are standing in line to buy the largest and longest-range Gulfstreams. Plus, Gulfstream last year certificated and started delivering its most capable jet ever, the G700. With a range of 7,750 nm at Mach 0.85 and able to “zorch” (Naval aviation term) along at Mach 0.935, the G700 is the fastest civilian airplane in the world. Gulfstream’s top-of-the-line jets currently are the G500, G600, G650 ER. and G700. It sold 76 of them during the first three quarters of 2024 compared with 57 during the same time in 2023. 

At the end of 2023, Embraer phased in a replacement for its single-pilot, entry-level bizjet, the Phenom 100EV, with the Phenom 100EX. The upgrades included wider seats, wider aisle, more headroom, and avionics that include the Runway Overrun Awareness and Alerting System (ROAAS), which did just as its name implied when FLYING reviewed it in a Phenom 300E in Issue 948/May 2024. and predicted that it should dramatically reduce runway overrun accidents. Sales for the 100-series Phenom were five in the first three quarters of 2023 and seven in that time in 2024. 

Embraer’s most popular jet, and historically the best-selling light jet because of its speed (fastest single-pilot jet—0.80 Mach), range, and load-hauling capability, the Phenom 300E continued to sell well. Thirty-eight were produced in the first three quarters of 2023 with 46 completed during the same time in 2024. Its pilot-friendly Garmin G3000 Prodigy avionics help keep workload down, making single-pilot operation reasonable even when the weather is down in a metro area where the traffic count is up. 

Stepping up to the midsize jet world, Embraer offers the fastest one in its class, the Mach 0.83 Praetor 500. Its 3,340 nm range is among the best in class, and its 5,800-foot cabin altitude at FL 450 makes it attractive to passengers. Ten were delivered in the first three quarters of 2023. The number increased by 50 percent (15) during the same time in 2024. At the top of the line, the super-midsize Praetor 600 can carry 12 passengers at a maximum speed of Mach 0.83 with a best-in-class max range of 4,018 nm. Embraer delivered 12 during the first three quarters of 2023, bumping the number handily to 18 in the same time period of 2024.

Honda has been long present in the light jet market with its HA-420 HondaJet, recently upgraded to the HA-420 Elite with range increased to 1,547 nm and a max cruise of 422 knots at FL 300 (max operating altitude is 43,000 feet). It has the best fuel efficiency and largest cabin among its direct competitors, the Embraer Phenom 100EX and Cessna Citation M2 series, due to its unconventional over-wing-mounted jet engines. It cannot match its competitors for runway takeoff and landing distance, needing 3,699 feet for takeoff at sea level on a standard day and 2,717 feet on landing. Honda sold 17 jets in the first three quarters of 2023 but only seven in the same time during 2024.

One jet that seems to defy a niche even though it is generally considered a light jet is the Pilatus PC-24, which we think Pilatus has appropriately nicknamed the “Super Versatile Jet.” The single-pilot jet has a max range of 2,040 nm, can carry two crewmembers and as many as eight passengers at a max cruise speed of 440 knots at FL 280. Max altitude is 45,000. The cabin is larger than any light jet, with a massive cargo door that allows loading extraordinarily bulky items. Unlike any other bizjet, the Pilatus PC-24 can operate from unimproved airstrips (see FLYING Issue 951/October 2024). At the other end of the operating equation, the Honeywell Primus Epic avionics suite allows ILS approaches to CAT II minimums. Sales have been steady, with 32 out the door in the first three quarters of 2023 and 31 during the same period in 2024.

This feature first appeared in the March Issue 956 of the FLYING print edition.