Cessna Citation Latitude: Buyer’s and Investor’s Guide

Pros

You’ve probably already noticed that there’s a common theme running through this guide, and that’s the cabin. The Latitude has the largest cross-section of any Citation that Cessna has built. So far. Strong short field capabilities mean that the Latitude can get into, and out of, airfields that the competition can’t.

Cons

Mid-range specs, relatively high variable hourly costs, price – The Latitude is over $1 million more than its closest competitor, the Legacy 450, although it does carry one more passenger.

Citation’s are often seen as the work horses of the industry. They are predictable and reliable, but aside from the from the Citation X, they are hardly ever exciting.

On paper, the Citation Latitude seems to continue this tradition. But once you’re inside the cabin, you’re in for a treat.

It’s mid-range specs make the Latitude a capable contender for transcontinental or cross Europe flights, but it’s in the cabin where the aircraft really shines. And, as any aircraft broker will tell you, it’s cabins that sell aircraft.

The Citation Latitude is positioned between the Citation XLS+ and Sovereign executive jets. The Latitude will be able to carry up to eight passengers and two cockpit crew. Mark Paolucci, senior vice president of sales at Cessna said at the 2011 Dubai Air Show that the aircraft will be a “game-changer.”

Flying

With the Latitude, there’s an interesting pay off between cabin size and range. The aircraft can get from coast-to-coast in the US, but only just. You’ll be more comfortable on the way there in a Latitude, especially as the cabin pressurisation has been lowered to 9.7psi – effectively meaning that at cruise height, the cabin feels like it’s at just 6,000ft.

The aircraft has a max cruise speed of 826 km/h, which will get you from New York to Los Angeles in five hours and two minutes, or Hong Kong to Beijing in two hours and forty five minutes, with Cessna quoting the direct operating costs as $4.45/mile

Travelling

Cessna put a lot of thought into the Latitude’s cabin, and it shows. The cabin cross section is wider than any other Cessna built to date, and the 10 aircraft windows are 25% larger.

Technically the aircraft can seat nine people, although one of these would need to be seated on a permanent seat in aft lavatory. In the main cabin there are six seats, with four arranged in a club format, and two further seats behind. The four club seats can be converted to lie flat beds, and there is a further two seat divan as you enter the aircraft cabin.

On board entertainment is taken care of thanks to the Clarity cabin management system. Although it’s possible to control this via an iPad, there is also an iPhone application available that individual passengers can download and use to change various different cabin environment settings.

Citation Latitude cabin (Image: Cessna)

Owning

With the Citation Latitude Cessna have an aircraft that sits directly between the smaller Citation XLS+ and the larger Citation Sovereign+. Whilst the gap between the Latitude and the Sovereign+ might not be that big, Cessna feel that it is a big step to go from the XLS+ directly to the Sovereign+. As such, the company is positioning the Latitude towards XLS+ customers as a natural step up the range.

The market for the Latitude should be relatively similar to that of the 400+ selling Sovereign / Sovereign+. The aircraft are, not too far apart, giving Cessna customers a $1 million dollar difference and a choice between range and comfort.

Hard facts

Range: 2,850nm/ 5,278 km
Maximum speed: 608 mph/ 980 kmph/ Mach .80
Max passengers: 9
Typical crew: 2
Competitor aircraft: Legacy 450, LearJet 85 (paused), Gulfstream G280, Citation Sovereign+
List price:$16.25 million
First delivery: September 2015
Next slots: 2016
World fleet: 10 aircraft, including test aircraft (September 2015)