Citation CJ2 9A-JIP at Antwerp, 2024. · Photo: Ad Meskens (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0
Cessna · Light Jet
Citation CJ2 (525A)
The first stretch of Cessna's Model 525 CitationJet, sold alongside the CJ1 and replaced by the CJ2+.
The CJ2 gives an owner-pilot or small flight department more range and baggage room than a CJ1+, Phenom 100 or Premier IA, but engine-program status, a 20-year-old panel and a thin full-fuel payload decide whether a particular example is a good buy.
Buy it if
You want a jet one pilot can legally fly, most trips carry two to four people under about 1,100 nm, and you can find one with engines on Williams' pay-per-hour program.
Skip it if
You often need full fuel with a full cabin (look at the CJ2+ or CJ3), want a wider cabin for less money (Premier IA), or want the lowest running cost in the class (Phenom 100).
Biggest compromise
Engine program status. FJ44-2C engines that are not on Williams' pay-per-hour program keep a 3,500-hour overhaul interval instead of 5,000, and the coverage does not transfer automatically: Williams inspects the engines and the buyer signs a new agreement.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$3.02M
typical asking · $2.75M–$3.79M
What it costs per year
$857K
at 300 hrs · one professional pilot
How far it flies
1,505 nm
1,057–1,505 nm with passengers
How fast
410 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
6
6 typical, up to 8 certified
Pilots needed
1
Certified for one pilot; the September 2026 end of older Citation single-pilot exemptions does not apply.
Price
What one costs to buy
Typical asking price
$3,022,500
Where asking prices sit
Low
$2.75M
Typical
$3.02M
High
$3.79M
Most asking prices fall inside this band.
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
Four of 11 listings show a price, $2.75M–$3.8M; reported sales in the six months to May 2026 ran $2.5M–$3.7M.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
Citation CJ2 (525A) · This aircraft
$3.02M
Sits between the Phenom 100 (original) and the Citation CJ2+ (525A).
For sale now
None listed right now
Cost to own
What it costs per year to run
300hours / year
Per year
Per flight hour
Estimate — your operator will quote actual numbers.
Fuel, airframe maintenance, engine program and crew travel, landing and handling rise as you fly more. One professional pilot, recurrent training, hangar, insurance, management and subscriptions and databases stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- One professional pilot$154,45018%
- Recurrent training$18,6482%
- Hangar$35,4184%
- Insurance$21,7923%
- Management$24,0003%
- Subscriptions and databases$9,9701%
- Fuel$314,71237%
- Airframe maintenance$125,70015%
- Engine program$88,50010%
- Crew travel, landing and handling$63,7507%
Fuel is the biggest single cost at 37% of the total.
The JetGrade
71 out of 100 — Slightly above its class
Peer group: Cessna Citation CJ1+ (525), Cessna Citation CJ2+ (525A), Beechcraft Premier IA, Embraer Phenom 100, Cessna Citation Bravo (550B)
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on range & payload, weakest on cabin & passenger comfort.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-09-28.
Where it flies
Sample trips and reach
Typical trips on a map
Nonstop
Depends on weight or weather
Fuel stop likely
4 of 6 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 1.0 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Short hop well within range
- 2.1 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Hot-and-high; depends on weight and weather
- 2.5 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm · Nonstop with four aboard
- 2.8 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · Nonstop with margin in still air
- 3.5 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · Nonstop in still air; strong headwinds may force a stop
- 6.5 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · One fuel stop, typically mid-continent
Lineage
What came before and after
2000–2006
Cessna Citation CJ2 (525A)
Stretched Model 525 with a longer cabin, bigger wing and FJ44-2C engines.
What changed from the Cessna CitationJet (525)
- Fuselage stretched 33 inches and tailcone 17 inches for more cabin and baggage room.
- Wing about 3 ft longer to carry the higher weights.
- Williams FJ44-2C engines at 2,400 lbf each, up from 1,900 lbf on the CJ1.
- Cabin grows to about 13 ft 7 in from 11 ft, with six seats typical.
- Seats-full range about 1,057 nm versus 756 nm for the CJ1 in one published comparison.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Silhouette · scaled to length
Length
Wingspan
Height
Inside the cabin
Width
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
Citation CJ2 (525A)
- JetGrade
- 71
- Price
- $3.02M
- Cost per year
- $857K
- Range
- 1,600 nm
- Speed
- 410 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2000–2006
← Before
- JetGrade
- 68
- Price
- $1.3M
- Cost per year
- $860K
- Range
- 1,200 nm
- Speed
- 379 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Cabin length
- 11′ 0″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1993–2000
After →
- JetGrade
- Not yet graded
- Price
- $3.9M
- Range
- 1,613 nm
- Speed
- 418 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Years built
- 2006–2016
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 72
- Price
- $2.35M
- Cost per year
- $871K
- Range
- 1,178 nm
- Speed
- 390 kt
- Seats
- 4
- Cabin length
- 11′ 0″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2008–2013
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 66
- Price
- $1.8M–$2.5M guide
- Cost per year
- $981K
- Range
- 1,300 nm
- Speed
- 451 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 13′ 6″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2005–2012
- Cessna Citation CJ2+ (525A) instead: Same cabin with FADEC engines, higher weights and standard dual pilot displays; one published average puts it about $1.5M above the CJ2.
- Embraer Phenom 100 instead: Cheaper to run (about $2,850 an hour versus $3,460 in one published comparison) with similar baggage, but slower, shorter-legged and with an 11 ft cabin.
- Beechcraft Premier IA instead: Wider, taller cabin and about 426 kt cruise for less money, but much shorter seats-full range (829 nm) and a higher hourly cost.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Williams FJ44-2C · 2,400 lbf each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Doc 8 inspection · 300 hr
- Doc 10 complete inspection · 1,200 hr
- Engine hot section · 1,750 hr
- Doc 11 structural inspection · 2,400 hr
- Engine overhaul · 3,500 hr
- Under-floor inspection (Doc 19) · 5,000 hr
- High-time structural inspection · 6,000 hr
- Annual inspection (Doc 02) every 12 months
On Williams' pay-per-hour program, with required parts fitted, overhaul moves to 5,000 hours and hot section to 2,500.
Known issues
Engine program status
Engines off Williams' program keep 3,500-hour overhauls; coverage transfer needs a Williams inspection and a new agreement.
Aging avionics
The Pro Line 21 panel is over 20 years old; navigator, WAAS and ADS-B upgrades are common, and a full Garmin retrofit exists.
Early brake and anti-skid
Early aircraft had uneven braking and slow anti-skid; Cessna changed production and issued service bulletins.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
Textron Aviation runs about 20 company service centers, 40-plus mobile service units and over 300 authorized facilities worldwide, plus independent CJ shops; Williams supports the engines.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- About 1,505 nm with four passengers and NBAA IFR reserves (the standard fuel safety margin), farther than a CJ1+ or Phenom 100.
- Certified for one pilot, so the FAA's September 2026 end of older Citation single-pilot exemptions does not affect it.
- About 74 cu ft of baggage in the nose, tailcone and a small cabin area reachable in flight.
Limitations
- Full tanks leave about 729 lb for people and bags with one pilot, roughly three adults with light bags.
- Engines off Williams' pay-per-hour program keep a 3,500-hour overhaul interval instead of 5,000 hours, which weighs on value.
- The original Collins Pro Line 21 panel is over 20 years old; many aircraft need navigator, WAAS or ADS-B upgrades.
The Citation CJ2 was Cessna's first stretch of the Model 525 CitationJet. It entered service in 2000 alongside the CJ1, with a fuselage 33 inches longer, a tailcone 17 inches longer, a wing about 3 ft longer and Williams FJ44-2C engines rated at 2,400 lb of thrust each, up from 1,900. It came with a Collins Pro Line 21 glass cockpit. Cessna built about 243 before the CJ2+ replaced it in 2006. The CJ2+ uses the same airframe with FADEC FJ44-3A-24 engines and higher weights, and it has its own page on TheJetGrade.
Pilot's take
Published pilot reports and operator surveys describe the CJ2 as a straightforward straight-wing Citation that climbs well, lands short and keeps single-pilot workload manageable with the Pro Line 21. Early aircraft drew complaints about uneven braking and slow anti-skid, which Cessna addressed in production and service bulletins. Plan around 400 knots, expect about 140 gallons an hour, and run the weight-and-balance before filling the tanks with a full cabin. On hot days at high airports such as Aspen, the departure is the leg to plan carefully.
Who this is for
An owner-pilot or small company stepping up from a turboprop or CJ1-class jet, flying about 150–350 hours a year with two to four passengers on regional trips, who wants single-pilot flexibility and will pay for a well-documented example.
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