Silhouette traced from a photo by Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cessna · Light Jet
Photo: Photo: Alan Wilson (Flickr: HawkeyeUK), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The numbers that matter
Price
$895k
typical asking
Cost per year
$919k
at 300 hrs · 2 pilots
Price
Based on 25 listings observed 2026-09-27
Typical ask
$895,000
Observed on other sites
25 observed on other sites
Price vs. its family
Typical asking, USD
The most expensive in its family.
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
$919,389
Per flight hour
$3,065
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.
Fuel None gph @ $7.23/gal. Split fields are midpoints of researched ranges; full ranges and sources in.
The JetGrade
70 = typicalII
Range & payload 60, Cabin & passenger experience 70, Operating economics 70, Reliability & support 70, Airport access & versatility 75, Purchase value & resale 65, Speed & trip efficiency 55
Why 55 on speed & trip efficiency: Below 70: noticeably slower on longer legs; small weight (5%) limits overall impact.
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
927 nm from Carlsbad — seats full
1,159 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
nonstop · 802 nm
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
conditional — weight and weather · 947 nm
Dallas → Teterboro
fuel stop likely · 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
Compare
I instead: about $423k cheaper to buy; cheaper to run; 259 nm less range; a shorter cabin.
S/II instead: 681 nm more range.
Learjet 31A instead: about $135k cheaper to buy; 131 nm more range.
Gold marks the best figure in each row. Tap any aircraft name to open its page.
Owning one
Engines & programs
2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-4 turbofans; 2,500 lb takeoff thrust and 2,375 lb maximum continuous thrust each
JT15D-4 TBO is 3,500 hr with a hot-section inspection at 1,750 hr. No hourly engine program was confirmed as available for the JT15D-4 in opened
Known issues
Corrosion under the lavatory, at the entry-door threshold and at belly antenna bases; windshield cracking starting at attachment screws; failed pressure drains causing loss of bleed air in flight (AOPA 2011). Brake stator cracking addressed by AD 2004-09-05 with 700-landing brake retirement.
Before you buy
Support & programs
Cessna phase inspection program (Phases 1–5).
The full review
“The Citation II is the straight-wing Citation that turned Cessna's first jet into a real family and small-company airplane.”
The Citation II is the straight-wing Citation that turned Cessna's first jet into a real family and small-company airplane. Built from 1978 into the mid-1990s as the Model 550, it stretched the Citation I, added about 600 lb of thrust per side with Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-4 engines, and gave buyers a cabin that still compares well with newer light jets for length and baggage.
Pilot's take
Published accounts describe the Citation II as a forgiving, straight-wing airplane with short-field manners that make smaller airports practical (BJT reports sub-4,000-ft takeoff runs at typical weights). The trade is speed and weight: you plan around 350-ish knots and around the zero-fuel and ramp limits on every loaded trip. As of this month it is strictly a two-pilot jet, so crew planning comes first.
Who this is for · A cost-conscious owner or small company moving up from a turboprop or piston twin who employs or contracts two pilots and flies regional trips.
Own a Cessna Citation II (550)? Verify with its FAA registration to join the owners' thread and the real-cost poll.
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