Silhouette traced from a photo by Trevor Hannant · CC BY-SA 2.0
Cessna · Light Jet
Photo: Photo: Markus Eigenheer (FlugZüge) (Flickr), CC BY-SA 2.0
The numbers that matter
Price
$1.85M
typical asking
Cost per year
$1.12M
at 300 hrs · 2 pilots
Price
Based on 22 listings observed 2026-09-28
Typical ask
$1,847,500
Observed on other sites
22 observed on other sites
For sale now
Cost to own
Estimate · Two professional pilots · Your operator will quote actual numbers
How many hours a year will you fly?
300hours / year
Per year
$1,115,282
Per flight hour
$3,718
Scales with hours: fuel, maintenance.
Fixed: pilots, other, hangar, training, insurance.
Fuel is the biggest line at 300 hours a year; pilots is the biggest fixed cost.
300 hr/yr, professionally crewed (two pilots), United States, price basis 09/27/2026: total $850,367-$1,380,198/yr (~$2,835-$4,601/flight hr). Fuel 148-170 gph @ $7.52/gal. Maintenance total = combined airframe maintenance + engine program-or-reserve. Other = management (0-48k) + misc fixed + crew travel/landing. Split fields are MIDPOINTS of researched ranges; full ranges and 100/200/400-hr scenarios in. Excludes financing, depreciation, engine-program buy-in and avionics upgrades.
The JetGrade
70 = typicalBravo
Range & payload 75, Cabin & passenger experience 75, Operating economics 75, Reliability & support 70, Airport access & versatility 70, Purchase value & resale 65, Speed & trip efficiency 60
Why 60 on speed & trip efficiency: Below 70: the slowest aircraft in the cohort; on a 1,000-nm leg the gap to the Beechjet/Learjet is roughly 15–20 minutes. Small (5%) weight limits the effect.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-09-28.
Where it can fly
1,500 nm from Carlsbad — seats full
1,500 nm — published max range
NonstopConditionalNeeds a fuel stop
Sample flight times
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
easy hop · 217 nm
Carlsbad → Aspen
conditional — hot/high airport · 654 nm
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
easy hop · 802 nm
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
easy hop · 947 nm
Dallas → Teterboro
easy hop · 1,251 nm
Flight times are planning estimates in still air with standard reserves. Conditional trips depend on weight, temperature and the day's weather.
Lineage
3 models in this family. Tap any model to jump to its page.
Size & cabin
Size in perspective
Schematic · same scale
Length
47′ 4″
Wingspan
51′ 8″
Height
15′ 0″
Inside the cabin
Typical 7-seat layout · To scale
Cabin length
15′ 9″
Width
4′ 8″
Height
4′ 8″
you stoop, you don't stand
Compare
Hawker 400XPR instead: 660 nm more range.
Premier IA instead: 200 nm less range.
Gold marks the best figure in each row. Tap any aircraft name to open its page.
Owning one
Engines & programs
2 x Pratt & Whitney Canada PW530A turbofans; 2,887 lbf takeoff / 2,843 lbf max continuous (static, SL)
PW530A: published overhaul interval 4,000 hr (Guardian Jet; planephd) — OEM EMM value not independently confirmed. P&WC ESP is used on the type (listing shows 'ESP Gold Lite'); JSSI and Textron-branded programs are also cited for Bravos.
Known issues
Documented (regulator): (1) tailcone smoke/fire from worn A/C compressor-motor brushes — AD 2015-17-12 requires brush replacement every 500 hr or A/C deactivation (S/N 0801-1136 included); (2) chafed wing fuel boost pump wiring arcing in tank — AD 2006-06-03 (S/N 0801-1075); (3) PW530A flexible fuel tube leaks — AD 2003-03-21; (4) PW530A surge/bleed-valve servo malfunction on low-time valves — AD 2010-18-09; (5) mis-wired fire bottles on 500-series family — AD 2007-11-17 (Bravo applicability via SB, unconfirmed). Documented (OEM/MRO): Primus 1000-era DU-870 CRT obsolescence. Single event: NLG failed to extend (AAIB G-CGEI, 2012, cause inconclusive). Brake stator AD 2004-09-05 does NOT apply to Bravo (S/N 0002-0733 only).
Before you buy
Support & programs
Textron Aviation's ProAdvantage family (ProParts, ProParts+, ProTech) is hourly, CPI-W adjusted, with no transfer fees on some programs; however the opened Textron page does not list the Citation Bravo/Model 550 as eligible, so availability for the Bravo is unconfirmed.
Model 550/560 Citations (incl.
The full review
“The Citation Bravo was Cessna's last and best update of the straight-wing Model 550.”
The Citation Bravo was Cessna's last and best update of the straight-wing Model 550. Built from 1997 to 2006 (about 336 delivered), it kept the Citation II's fuselage and wing but added Pratt & Whitney Canada PW530A engines (2,887 lb of thrust each), trailing-link main landing gear and a Honeywell Primus 1000 glass cockpit. It also raised the maximum takeoff weight to 14,800 lb and the zero-fuel weight to 11,300 lb, which fixes much of the payload squeeze that limits early Citation IIs.
Pilot's take
Published pilot reports describe the Bravo as a stable, straight-wing Citation with good short-field manners, and the PW530As and Primus 1000 made it much easier to fly than the Citation II. You plan around 370–400 knots, not 440, and a full cabin still needs a fuel and weight check on the longer legs. From September 29, 2026 it is a two-pilot jet, full stop, so the crew plan comes before the purchase.
Who this is for · A company or owner moving up from a turboprop or earlier Citation who employs or contracts two pilots, flies roughly 150–400 hours a year on regional trips, and values range and baggage per dollar over speed.
Own a Cessna Citation Bravo (550B)? Verify with its FAA registration to join the owners' thread and the real-cost poll.
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