The Cabin Is The Thing

Bottom line for existing and potential private jet owners: If it’s in their beach house or Bentley, they want it in their airplane. If hot tubs were possible at 30,000 feet, they’d ask for those, too.

Every year, jet builders become incrementally better at meeting those rarefied expectations. Over the last decade alone, the market has seen demonstrable and dramatic improvements in passenger seat comfort and functionality, including better artificial lighting, bigger cabin windows, and larger galleys and lavatories. Also: a collection of “whiz bang” technology—fast and seamless Wi-Fi and voice communication, larger TVs, onboard servers that can store whatever video or audio entertainment you like, and cabin management systems that allow you to control just about everything in the cabin from a touch panel at your seat or via your portable smart device. Commands include changing the cabin light color, ordering a drink, selecting a surround-sound movie, and adjusting the temperature.

Higher pounds-per-square-inch pressurization ratios mean lower cabin altitudes while cruising above the airliners—­significantly reducing fatigue. In some aircraft this feature is combined with a cabin air humidification system to further enhance comfort.

These are the features necessary to compete in today’s business jet world. In the words of Leona Qi, president, U.S., at VistaJet, “We continue to challenge the boundaries of what is possible at 40,000 feet. This dedication is reflected in initiatives like our Wellness program, exclusive to those flying onboard our Global 7500, which offers ergonomic seating and jetlag-reducing technologies.”

Modern private jet cabins do almost everything except shine your shoes. It’s not just the functionality that’s improved, but rather the physical cabin itself—it’s bigger and more stylish. That’s across all categories, not just in the $81 million ultra-long-range, large-cabin aircraft such as the Bombardier Global 7500, but even in $6 million light jets.

Trenched center aisles are increasingly giving way to uniformly flat floors and cleverly designed new cabin shells to increase head and shoulder room. Sidewall nooks hold additional personal effects. And there’s more room for luggage than ever before. Consider that a midsize Hawker 800 of the 1980s offers 49 cubic feet of room for baggage, while today’s considerably smaller HondaJet provides 66, and the Cessna Citation CJ4, another light jet, offers 77. After all, why have a private jet if you need to pack light?

Business Jet Traveler recently looked at how cabin features on various classes of business jet models have evolved. 

Entry-Level Light Jets

Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet G2+

Ninety-six Vision Jets were delivered last year and it’s easy to see why. The latest version of this single-engine jet, the G2+, blends the best of minivan utility with luxury sports car styling to deliver an interior that is both highly useful and aesthetically pleasing. The Vision Jet features modular seating for up to five adults and two more optional jump seats suitable for small children.

The cabin is about five feet wide, four feet high, and nearly 11 feet long. The interior fit and finish quality is at a high level for an entry-level jet, with a cabin that includes luxurious automotive-style leather seats, high-end substrates, generous seat tracking, sidewall cut-outs for personal-item stowage, cup holders, armrests, USB power ports, airbag seatbelts (crew positions), and climate-controlled air-conditioning, with options for enhanced interior lighting, drop-down entertainment screens, Wi-Fi-ground link, and 110V AC power.

The centered aft engine positioning gives the airplane a more flexible center of gravity for loading, makes the engine easier to service and inspect before flights, and mitigates onboard noise and any damage to the cabin from an uncontained engine failure.

The G2+ adds improved cabin noise insulation and a higher-powered cabin pressurization system that allows the aircraft to maintain an 8,000-foot cabin at its new maximum operating altitude of 31,000 feet. The aircraft can be equipped with the Gogo Avance L3 air-to-ground connectivity solution, a comparatively economical way to access the web, email, moving maps, and flight information. 

Light Jets

Embraer Phenom 100EX

Although it fits into the light jet category, the Phenom 100EX shares many features of its larger siblings, such as upper tech panels, wider seats with a two-inch backrest gain and extra knee support, increased use of more sustainable materials, and flush-to-the-wall tables. The EX version also has the previously optional side-facing fifth seat and belted lavatory as standard features.

Customers can choose from four interior color schemes—navy blue, gray, tan, and black—and three new seat styles. The interior also makes more use of leather and eco-friendly Ultra Leather and fewer veneers to maximize durability and maintainability.

The 100EX’s cockpit was also enhanced by adding more pilot legroom and an open-concept cockpit for easier communication within the cabin. In addition, the 100EX is the first light jet equipped with a runway overrun awareness and alerting system, which enhances safety during critical takeoff and landing operations. 

Textron Aviation Cessna Model 525 Series

These three models—the M2 Gen2, Citation  CJ3 Gen2, and CJ4 Gen2—comprise Cessna’s current light jet offerings.

A descendant of the CJ1+, the M2 Gen2 began deliveries in 2022. Improvements include three more inches of cockpit legroom and a cabin with more durable materials, new sidewall ledges, a choice of wood or carpet flooring materials, accent lighting, illuminated cupholders, and wireless and USB charging ports at each passenger seat.

Deliveries of the newest iteration of the CJ3, the CJ3 Gen2, are scheduled to begin in 2025. Improvements include reworked entry steps with grab handles, more cockpit legroom, and a fold-down, side-facing single seat opposite the entry door. Between-seat slimline tables have been added along with USB-C charging ports at every seat and wireless charging.

The CJ4 Gen2’s cabin is 21 inches longer than the CJ3’s. Added features include new folding airstairs, ambient lighting, and a galley with improved storage. The inflight entertainment system was enhanced with a wireless cabin management system that comes with a media server that can stream preloaded audio and video files, access SiriusXM satellite radio, and display moving maps. 

Other Light Jets

On the larger end of the light jet spectrum, both Embraer’s Phenom 300E and the Pilatus PC-24 remain strong sellers and both aircraft have recently undergone significant cabin modernizations.

The 300E features the Lufthansa Technik Nice-HD cabin management system, a quieter cabin, and the available Bossa Nova interior that includes revised seat stitching, carbon-fiber accents, piano-black veneer, accent leather, and gold plating. Embraer was the first business jet manufacturer to certify a runway overrun awareness and alerting system, in the Phenom 300E, which also offers autothrottle, coupled go-around, and emergency descent mode.

The PC-24 adds a new, 6-foot, 6-inch long three-place, side-facing divan that converts into a bed, new cabin management and audio systems, and a payload increase of 600 pounds. As a result, the PC-24’s range grew to 2,040 nautical miles.

Other improvements include reduced ambient noise through improvements to passenger service unit ducting and tuned engine accessory air intake ducts, and the addition of noise-absorbing panels. An integrated Lufthansa Technik cabin management system features a 10-inch touchscreen controller with a 3D moving map, four high-fidelity speakers with a sub-woofer option, mood lighting, USB ports, and a media storage server. 

Medium & Super-Medium

Embraer Praetor 500 & 600

Embraer delivered 41 Praetors in 2023. The aircraft are improved midsize and super-midsize jets derived from the Legacy 450 and 500 models and offer redesigned cabins, tweaked engines, new winglets, more fuel capacity, and upgraded avionics. Both are two-pilot aircraft. The 500 features seating for seven to nine passengers and has a maximum range of 3,340 nautical miles, while the 600 has room for eight to 12 passengers and a maximum range of 4,018 nautical miles. Baggage capacity is very generous for aircraft in these classes: 150 cubic feet in the 500 and 155 in the 600.

These aircraft compete directly with the midsize Citation Latitude and super-midsize Citation Longitude, both from Textron Aviation’s Cessna division. The Praetor 600 actually bests the Longitude in terms of range and cabin width, and unlike the Longitude, it offers full fly-by-wire flight controls.

Improvements over the Legacy models are particularly noticeable in the cabin. The stylish Bossa Nova interiors are heavy on carbon fiber, piano-black accents, and elegant stitch patterns. The cabin altitude is just 5,800 feet while the aircraft is at 45,000 feet. Passengers can enjoy optional high-speed Viasat Ka-band connectivity for streaming even large files. Gogo Avance L5 air-to-ground high-speed connectivity covering the U.S. and parts of Canada is also optional.

An “upper tech panel” displays flight information and cabin management controls that appear when needed, then vanish, leaving a clean, smooth look. A new, three-place divan (on the 600) is more orthopedically friendly, with a 105-degree seating angle. In 2020, Embraer enhanced the air quality in the interior with the addition of COVID-era HEPA filters and a one-touch electric lavatory door.

Last year, fractional provider NetJets announced an order for up to 250 Praetor 500s with deliveries beginning in 2025.
 

Other Midsize and Super-midsize Models

The Cessna Citation Latitude (midsize) and Longitude, Bombardier Challenger 3500, and Gulfstream G280 (all super-midsize) are popular choices in these categories. The Latitude and Longitude share the same flat floor cabin cross-section (72 inches tall, 77 inches wide), but the Latitude’s cabin is 3 feet, 5 inches shorter. Both feature a new seating design. NetJets placed substantial new orders and options for both models as part of a 1,500 aircraft deal worth an estimated $30 billion.

The Challenger 3500 is the latest version of the Challenger 300 series that began deliveries in 2004. The 3500 incorporates many of the advanced cabin features, including the redesigned, zero-gravity Nuage seating architecture of Bombardier’s current flagship, the Global 7500. While Gulfstream reportedly is working on a successor aircraft to the G280, it continues to refine the existing product and last year began offering it with a lower cabin altitude (reduced to 4,800 at 41,000 feet) and a plasma ionization clean air system. 

Large Cabin

Dassault Falcon 6X

Deliveries of the 6X began earlier this year. The 12- to 14-passenger aircraft has the largest cross-section of any in-production, purpose-designed business jet: eight and a half feet wide, six and a half feet high, and just over 40 feet long yielding 1,843 cubic feet of volume. A skylight illuminates the entryway, and 30 windows flood the space with natural light. All that room allows for a good deal of flexibility, including the ability to have conference-table seating for six and a comfortable aft stateroom. The wider cabin also makes it possible for the 6X to offer a bigger galley. The 155-cubic-foot baggage compartment is accessible in flight, plus there are another 76 cubic feet of unpressurized baggage space.

The environmental system delivers a cabin altitude of 3,900 feet while the aircraft is at 41,000 feet. The air-filtration system both circulates and refreshes air every two to three minutes, and the cabin is extremely quiet. High-speed satellite connectivity via FalconConnect will be on par with what the most sophisticated home or office equipment delivers. The system provides simplified cabin management and entertainment control wirelessly through personal devices while providing seamless, global communications. 

Large Cabin, Ultra-Long Range

Bombardier Global 7500

The 7500 features a four-zone, 2,637-cubic-foot passenger cabin with the Lufthansa Nice Touch cabin management system, Nuage zero-gravity single executive seats, and Soleil cabin lighting designed with circadian rhythm-based technology to combat jet lag; a large galley; and a dedicated crew suite. The galley is 20 percent larger than that on the Global 6000, with double convection/microwave/steam oven capabilities. Range is 7,700 nautical miles.

Other cabin features include a center lounge/media room with 42- to 50-inch flat-screen monitors; adjustable color LEDs in the ceiling; a conference/dining table that seats six; a private stateroom; an optional stand-up steam shower; a more robust environmental-control system; and a capacious 195-cubic-foot baggage hold. An integrated cabin-management and in-flight-entertainment system allows passengers to control LED lighting and window shades as well as having communication, entertainment, and information access and streaming via personal smart devices using new high-speed, Ka-band satellite technology. 

Gulfstream G700

What makes the G700 a true luxury long-hauler is the available Grand Suite in the aft fuselage. It can be equipped with a curved-edge, queen-size bed opposite a full-size dresser. The adjacent aft lav features two windows, a stand-up closet, a large vanity, and an optional stand-up shower. The lav also provides in-flight access to the pressurized, 195-cubic-foot baggage hold.

The G700’s range is 7,750 nautical miles at Mach 0.85 and 6,650 nautical miles at Mach 0.90. Top speed is Mach 0.935. The cabin altitude is just 2,840 feet at 41,000 feet, meaning passengers should experience less fatigue on flights.