Cessna CitationJet 9A-JSB, built in 1996, lining up for takeoff. · Photo: Markus Eigenheer (FlugZüge), Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
Cessna · Light Jet
CitationJet (525)
The first of Cessna's Model 525 jets and the start of the CJ family.
The CitationJet is the least expensive way into Cessna's single-pilot CJ family, with a typical asking price near $1.3 million. It suits short trips with a light cabin; range with passengers, cabin size and hot-day runway performance are the trade-offs.
Buy it if
You fly one to four people on trips mostly under 800 nm, want a jet you can fly yourself with the right type rating, and would rather spend the savings on engine coverage and avionics.
Skip it if
You often fill every seat on trips over 900 nm, fly from high, hot airports in summer, or want a modern factory cockpit without paying for an upgrade.
Biggest compromise
Range with people aboard. With four passengers and IFR reserves (the fuel safety margin required for instrument flights, including an alternate airport), it flies about 1,100 nm.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$1.3M
typical asking · $875K–$1.95M
What it costs per year
$860K
at 300 hrs · one professional pilot
How far it flies
1,099 nm
740–1,099 nm with passengers
How fast
379 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
5
5 typical, 6 using the toilet seat
Pilots needed
1
Certified for one pilot; insurers may require extra training or a second pilot at first.
Price
What one costs to buy
Typical asking price
$1,299,000
Where asking prices sit
Low
$875K
Typical
$1.3M
High
$1.95M
Most asking prices fall inside this band.
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
Thirteen of 23 listings show a price. Engine program status, cockpit upgrades and winglets explain most of the spread.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
CitationJet (525) · This aircraft
$1.3M
The least expensive here; next up is the Citation CJ1 (525).
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 and engine program rise as you fly more. One professional pilot, recurrent training, hangar, insurance and subscriptions and databases stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- One professional pilot$197,62223%
- Recurrent training$6,0001%
- Hangar$34,4004%
- Insurance$17,0522%
- Subscriptions and databases$6,7001%
- Fuel$329,27738%
- Airframe maintenance$183,60021%
- Engine program$85,50010%
Fuel is the biggest single cost at 38% of the total.
The JetGrade
68 out of 100 — Below its class average
Peer group: Cessna Citation CJ1 (525), Cessna Citation Mustang 510, Embraer Phenom 100, Beechcraft Premier I, Cessna Citation I/SP (501)
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on value & resale, weakest on range & payload.
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
2 of 6 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 0.9 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Easy nonstop at any normal weight
- 2.3 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Hot-and-high; depends on weight and weather
- 2.7 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm · Comfortable nonstop; international arrival
- 3.4 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · Nonstop in calm winds; headwinds may force a stop
- 4.2 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · Needs one stop, typically mid-route
- 7.1 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Needs two stops in typical conditions
Lineage
What came before and after
1993–2000
Cessna CitationJet (525)
The original CJ: FJ44-1A engines, T-tail and a Honeywell two-screen cockpit.
What changed from the Cessna Citation I/SP (501)
- Williams FJ44-1A turbofans of 1,900 lb thrust replaced the Citation I/SP's Pratt & Whitney JT15D engines.
- A new straight laminar-flow wing designed for efficient cruise.
- An all-new airframe with a T-tail on a new type certificate.
- Maximum takeoff weight of 10,400 lb, about 1,450 lb lighter than the Citation I/SP.
- Honeywell autopilot with two electronic flight displays came standard.
- A dropped center aisle adds headroom in a slightly shorter cabin.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Length
Wingspan
Inside the cabin
Cabin length
Width
Height
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
CitationJet (525)
- 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
← Before
- JetGrade
- 63
- Price
- $575K
- Cost per year
- $857K
- Range
- 1,328 nm
- Speed
- 345 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Cabin length
- 12′ 8″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1977–1985
After →
- JetGrade
- 68
- Price
- $2.03M
- Cost per year
- $829K
- Range
- 1,257 nm
- Speed
- 379 kt
- Seats
- 5
- Cabin length
- 11′ 0″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2000–2005
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
- 72
- Price
- $2.1M
- Cost per year
- $850K
- Range
- 1,150 nm
- Speed
- 340 kt
- Seats
- 4
- Cabin length
- 9′ 9″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2006–2017
- Cessna Citation CJ1 (525) instead: Same basic airframe with a newer Collins Pro Line 21 cockpit and 200 lb more takeoff weight, typically asking about $2 million.
- Embraer Phenom 100 instead: Wider cabin, more baggage space (71 vs 55 cu ft) and longer range with every seat filled, typically asking about $2.4 million.
- Cessna Citation Mustang 510 instead: Newer, with a Garmin G1000 cockpit and lower hourly costs, but a smaller cabin with four passenger seats; typically about $1.95 million.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Williams International FJ44-1A · 1,900 lbf each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Inspection Document 10 · 1,200 hr
- Engine hot section on TAP · 2,500 hr
- Engine overhaul · 3,500 hr
- Long-interval airframe inspection · 6,000 hr
On Williams' TAP pay-per-hour program, overhaul stretches to 5,000 hours with a hot-section check at 2,500; most listed aircraft are enrolled.
Known issues
Engine program status
A deferred or lapsed engine program can mean a large catch-up bill; overhauls ran $250,000–350,000 per engine in 2011.
Aging original cockpit
The original Honeywell displays are dated; a full Garmin upgrade was approved in September 2026, price not yet published.
Pitch-trim runaway fix
A 2004 directive fixed a pitch-trim failure mode found after a 2003 ditching; confirm it was done.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 9 checked
Textron Aviation's service network and many independent shops support the CitationJet, and Williams supports the FJ44 engines. Parts support is good; the original cockpit is the main long-term concern.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- Certified for one pilot, so an owner with the CE-525S type rating can fly it without a second pilot.
- Typical asking price about $1.3 million, versus about $2 million for the CJ1 that replaced it.
- Well supported: 20 of 23 listed aircraft have Williams engine coverage, and a full Garmin cockpit upgrade was approved in 2026.
Limitations
- About 1,100 nm with four passengers and standard fuel reserves; filling the seats means carrying less fuel.
- Small cabin, about 11 ft long and 4 ft 9 in tall, with a curtained toilet seat rather than a private lavatory.
- Takeoff distance grows from about 3,000 ft at sea level to about 5,700 ft at a hot 5,000-ft airport.
The CitationJet is where Cessna's CJ family began. Cessna built 359 of them between 1993 and 2000 as a fresh design for the market the old Citation I/SP had served: a straight, efficient wing, a T-tail, two Williams FJ44-1A engines of 1,900 lb thrust each, and certification for flying with one pilot. The CJ1, CJ1+ and M2 that followed all grew from this airplane.
Pilot's take
The CitationJet was built for one pilot, and it shows in how simply the airplane operates. Expect about 25 minutes to climb into the high 30s, then plan on 360–380 knots. The FJ44-1A engines hold their power only to modest temperatures, so every hot or high departure starts with a weight check, and full-seat legs much past 900 nm are unrealistic. The original two-screen Honeywell panel still works, but an airplane with WAAS approaches, ADS-B and ideally the new Garmin cockpit is far easier to live with.
Who this is for
Owner-pilots and small companies stepping up from a turboprop or piston twin, flying about 100–300 hours a year on 300–800 nm trips with two to four passengers, who want Cessna support at the lowest price in the CJ family.
Ask about this aircraft
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