As the number of parties interested in owning their own Private Jet continues to grow, so does interest in the “cheaper” end of the market - i.e. the small cabins sector. This area of the market is often used as a stepping stone to bigger and better Private Jets, and allows people to gain experience about owning their own Jet.

While there are a fair number of companies operating in the small cabins sector of the market, this area is dominated by Citation. Among the Private Jets available are:

Citation CJ1

The Citation CJ1, which holds between 4 and 6 passengers, was introduced to the Private Jet market in April 1991, with full certification following in December 1992. Due to the size of the Jet and the modern day design , the plane is very efficient on fuel consumption and has very low operating costs. This allows the Jet to fly non-stop between the likes of Los Angeles and Aspen, and Washington D.C. and Miami - very useful for corporate America.

The Jet has a very useful baggage capacity and can hold 3-4 Golf Bags, 6-7 Suitcases and 1-4 sets of Skis. A surprising amount for a so called “Small Jet” with dimensions of 11ft x 5ft x 5ft.

The Jet has a typical cruise speed of 350 ktas (although this reduces to 325 ktas on longer flights) with a maximum flight range of 672 miles. Take off and landing distances are around the 3,000ft mark, which opens up access to many airfields not available to the larger Jets.

The Citation CJ1 will set you back between $3m and $4.3m, with fixed annual costs of $340,000.

Hawker 400XP

Raytheon’s Beech Aircraft Corporation acquired the Hawker 400XP in 1985, and continued the impressive work of the previous owners. The original design of the Jet was changed and the fuel system was improved, which created space for up to 9 passengers and increased storage facilities.

The improved design offers space for 3-4 Golf Bags, 6-7 Suitcases and 1-4 sets of Skis, which again is fairly impressive bearing in mind the fairly compact 15.5ft x 5ft x 5ft dimensions of the Jet. The improved fuel consumption allows flights up to 915 miles, which is towards the top end of flight distances in the small cabin market.

For a mere $2.2m - $7.1m, with annual costs of $362,000 per year, this could be yours!!

The small Jet of today, is far bigger than the small Jet of yester-year - but then again the prices are not too comparable!!