Business Aviation Highlights of 2023

Switzerland’s Comlux delivered the first completed Airbus Corporate Jets ACJ TwoTwenty—the executive variant of the Airbus A220 single-aisle airliner—to Dubai-based launch customer Five Hotels and Resorts in April.

Textron Aviation unveiled the Citation Ascend midsize business jet in May, the latest version of the Cessna 560XL series. Planned to enter service in 2025, the aircraft features a new Garmin G5000 integrated flight deck and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW545D engines with improved thrust and fuel burn.

Honda Aircraft announced in June that it will develop the HondaJet Echelon transcontinental-range light jet, unveiled in 2021 as the 2600 Concept, aiming for certification in 2028. The 11-seat, 2,625-nm-range aircraft features Williams International FJ44-4C engines and a Garmin G3000 flight deck.

After completing a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange in July, regional aviation provider Surf Air Mobility confirmed an order for 100 Cessna Caravans and an exclusive relationship with Textron Aviation to support Surf Air’s development of an electrified Grand Caravan EX.

Dassault’s Falcon 6X large-cabin business jet received European and U.S. certification on Aug. 22. The 5,500-nm-range twinjet entered service in November. Development of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW812D-powered Falcon 6X was launched in 2018 to replace the canceled Falcon 5X.

A consortium headed by Delta Air Lines in September led the rescue of membership-based private flight provider Wheels Up Experience from potential bankruptcy with a $500 million credit facility. Previously, Delta held 20% of Wheels Up—its largest individual shareholder.

Fractional ownership provider NetJets signed a record agreement with Textron Aviation in September covering options to purchase up to 1,500 Cessna Citation business jets over the next 15 years, a mix of Ascend, Latitude and Longitude midsize and super midsize models.

Bombardier revealed new details of its EcoJet research program in October, saying flights of an 18-ft.-span subscale blended wing body demonstrator continue to show potential to achieve 50% fuel burn savings. The demonstrator is being flown to develop control laws for the unconventional design.

Textron Aviation unveiled the Cessna Citation CJ3 Gen2 in October, the latest in a series of Gen2 upgrades to the manufacturer’s family of light jets. Featuring a Garmin G3000 flight deck with autothrottles, the aircraft is scheduled to enter service in 2025.

Embraer unveiled the upgraded Phenom 100EX light jet in October with an enhanced cabin and Garmin G3000 avionics. Scheduled to enter service in 2025, the aircraft is the first in the light business-jet class to feature a runway overrun awareness and altering system.

Gulfstream Aerospace on Nov. 19 completed the first transatlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel in both Pratt & Whitney Canada PW815GA engines of a G600. The almost 7-hr. flight used 100% HEFA (hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids) SAF produced by World Energy.