The Most Popular Business Jets and Business Aviation Tweets

The Motley Fool: The Most Popular Business Jets — This Is How the Elite Like to Fly

At first glance, it might seem like business jets are nothing more than a luxury perk for high-profile executives. But that would be missing the much bigger picture. Business aviation contributes $150 billion annually to the U.S. economy, and employs more than 1.2 million people in the U.S — and those aren’t the only good things.

As defense spending wanes, defense companies’ commercial revenue sources are becoming that much more important. So, let’s take a look at the three most popular business jets manufacturers, their most popular business jets for 2013, and why they’re important.

Cessna

When it comes to business jets, Textron’s Cessna segment is usually flying high. Unfortunately, 2013 saw Cessna fall to third place thanks to lower deliveries — in 2013 Cessna delivered 139 business jets. Still, third place is still a pretty good ranking, so let’s take a look at Cessna’s most delivered jet, the 525C Citation CJ4, which had a total of 33 deliveries in 2013.

Capable of carrying 10 passengers, the Citation CJ4 has a maximum cruise speed of 519 mph, and a max range of 2,192 nautical miles. But the best part is being able to fly in what Cessna describes as “ultimate luxury.” Specifically, that includes dual-zone temperature control, LED lighting, the award-winning Venue TM HD integrated cabin management and entertainment suite, wide reclining leather seats, and advanced soundproofing. The price for this level of flying comfort? Approximately $9.05 million in 2013, according to Corporate Jet Investor.

More importantly, because Textron is a multi-industry company that receives a fair amount of revenue from defense spending (revenues from its Bell Helicopter segment accounted for 37% of Textron’s total revenues in 2013, and 14% of its total revenue comes from the sale of other military equipment) its Cessna segment has, and will continue to be, an important contributor to Textron’s bottom line — in 2013, Cessna accounted for approximately 23% of Textron’s total revenues.

Gulfstream

Unlike Cessna, 2013 was a great year for General Dynamics’ subsidiary, Gulfstream. In fact, with a total of 144 business jet deliveries, 2013 was Gulfstream’s second-best year on record, according to Wichita Business Journal. What helped drive Gulfstream’s deliveries? A combination of Gulfstream’s large-cabin business jets, the Gulfstream 450, 550, and 650 — Gulfstream doesn’t split business jet deliveries beyond large and midsize cabin aircraft — so let’s take a look at these impressive jets.

Capable of carrying up to 16 passengers, the G450 has a normal cruise speed of 528 mph, and a max range of 4,350 nautical miles. The G550, on the other hand, can carry up to 18 passengers and has a normal cruise speed of 528 mph. Plus, it can travel 6,750 nm. Finally, the G650 can carry up to 18 people, but its normal cruise speed is 562 mph, with a range of 7,000 nm.
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