Private Jet Manufacturers

An Overview of the World’s Leading Private Jet Manufacturers 

In the 1930s, modest passenger aircraft were first used to carry businesspeople and politicians, marking the birth of business aviation as we know it today. In the 1970s, however, it truly took off when enterprising businesses began producing aircraft designed exclusively for business travel. 

Many companies have entered this industry throughout the years, each offering private aircraft that are quicker, more comfortable, and more opulent than the last. 

Best Private Jet Manufacturers in 2023

Private Jet Manufacturers List

*read on for details about these companies 

Business Jet Manufacturers & Business Jet Companies 

1. AirBus Corporate Jets

Airbus SAS, better renowned for its huge commercial airliner designs, formed Airbus Executive and Private Aviation in 1997 to provide corporate and VIP versions of its aircraft. France’s EADS is still primarily a commercial aircraft manufacturer, and its major subsidiary is Airbus. Although the company primarily makes military and freight aircraft, any of its big airliners, including the 555-seat A380 double-decker, may be modified into business or VIP configurations.

The Airbus ACJ318, ACJ319, ACJ320, and ACJ321 are the company’s most sought-after business jets. When compared to airline models, which may accommodate more than 200 people, Airbus jets generally host between 15 and 50 seats. Since more than 300 airlines operate Airbus aircrafts, maintenance providers for Airbus Corporate Jets are easy to come by, with the company’s used often by heads of state, governments, and corporations.

2. Bombardier Aviation

Located in Doval, Quebec, Bombardier Aviation is a division of the Canadian aerospace conglomerate Bombardier Inc. Joseph-Armand Bombardier started the company in 1937, and in the 1990s they bought Canadair, Learjet, and De Havilland Aircraft and joined the aerospace business.

The Learjet (short-haul), Challenger (medium-haul), and Global private jet families are the focus of the company’s growth in the business aviation sector (long and very long haul).

Bombardier was the first company in the private aviation industry to create a private jet capable of flying very great distances. Nonstop flights between cities as far apart as Paris and Los Angeles, New York and Dubai, are now a reality thanks to the Global Express series. The most up-to-date Global 7500 and 8000 versions both have a range of 14,600 kilometres and include luxurious cabins.

After extensive reorganization in 2019, the company chose to stop manufacturing commercial and regional airplanes in favor of private jets of its many brands.

Bombardier, a leading builder of private jets, has earned a stellar reputation for the reliability of its planes and the thoughtful amenities it includes for its customers. Over 4,700 Bombardier private planes are now in use in over 115 different nations.

2. Beechcraft

Beech Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1932 in Whichita, Kansas. The firm, which was started by Walter Beech and his wife Olive Ann Beech, is known for producing lightweight private aircraft powered by piston engines and turboprops.

The Beechcraft Bonanza is a fantastic example of the company’s excellence in the single-engine, six-seater aircraft market. This plane has been mass-produced in excess of 17 thousand times since its first release in 1947.

The Baron 95-C55 is another famous plane made in the USA. Light twin-engine aircraft have been used for large-scale tourist and regional commercial flying since the 1960s.

Since its introduction in 1964, the King Air series of twin-turboprop aircraft from Beechcraft has been a reliable and popular choice for business and cargo trips. To many, the King Air 350 represents the pinnacle of this family of planes. This 2009 innovation can transport 9 people over a distance of 2.778 kilometers. Businessmen are able to go to areas not accessible by commercial aviation because to the plane’s landing and takeoff capabilities on small, gravel runways.

Hawker Beechcraft was purchased by Textron Aviation in 2013 and rebranded as Beechcraft. Textron Aviation also owns Cessna. Since then, Beechcraft has maintained a presence in both the piston aircraft market with the Baron and Bonanza, and the turboprop aircraft industry with the King Air and Beechliner.

3. Cessna

The Cessna-Roos Aircraft Company was established in 1927 by Clyde Cessna and Victor Ross. Cessna is a well-known aircraft manufacturer that was acquired by the Textron Group in 2014 and is now headquartered in Whichita, Kansas.

The company that makes private jets is well-known for its small passenger aircraft. The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is the company’s most often flown model. Since its introduction in 1955, more than 44,000 of this single-engine, four-seater passenger aircraft have been produced. The C172 distinguishes out amongst other aircraft for its dependability and cheap operating expenses, and it is still in production.

Cessna introduced the Citation series of private planes in 1972. People who flew in private planes such as the Citation II, III, or V reported being very satisfied with their experiences.

The Citation Mustang is another popular choice for a small private plane. With a range of 2,235 kilometers, this four-seater aircraft entered service in 2006. With over 479 units sold, it’s clear that businesspeople everywhere love it.

Businessmen and vacationers alike enjoy the Citation XL, XLS, and XLS+, variants of the same 8-seater private aircraft with a range of 3,900 kilometers. The newest Citation XLS + can fly 3,889 kilometers, making it a suitable medium-range private aircraft for 12 passengers.

The Citation Latitude and Longitude are the newest additions to the Citation series of private planes. These ultra-modern planes are equipped with every amenity imaginable to ensure the comfort and safety of their passengers. 

4. Gulfstream

When American military aircraft maker Grumman conceived of his first civilian aircraft, the Gulfstream I turboprop, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation was born. As a result of its popularity, the turbojet Gulfstream II was developed rapidly.

As of 1999, Gulfstream was a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics after having been owned by American Jet Industries and Chrysler before. It has relocated its headquarters to Savannah, Georgia.

Gulfstream was a major producer of private jets, but their 1995 Gulfstream G650 was the first ultralong-range private jet (GV). This plane can fly 11,000 kilometers nonstop and seats sixteen passengers.

The next generation of aircraft, including the G550 and the G650, were also very successful. Passengers traveling on a Gulfstream plane will experience an unprecedented degree of luxury and refinement. Their distinctive big oval windows are an easy landmark to spot.

Since 2019, Gulfstream has been working on the G700, an aircraft that can carry as many as 19 people, has a range of 13,290 kilometers, and has a maximum takeoff weight of 5,490 kg. The interior of this extraordinary airplane is the most capacious in the business, and it has cutting-edge innovations including lighting that mitigates jet lag.

More Private Jet Brands and Private Jet Manufacturers 

5. Boing Business Jets

Although Boeing is well known for its commercial jetliners, in the late 1990s, the corporation introduced the Boeing Business Jet series, which used the commercial airframe of the 737 and transformed it into the BBJ via a series of upgrades and luxury refurbishments. Modern BBJ layouts, which are modeled on the Boeing 777, 787, and 747-8 Intercontinental, offer enough capacity for a master bedroom, bathroom, and living area, and can accommodate up to 50 people.

It was in Seattle that William Boeing established the Boeing Company in 1916. For decades, Boeing was a growing company; until, in 2001, the company merged with McDonnell Douglas and relocated its headquarters to Chicago. There have been a total of 138 BBJs supplied to clients between 1996 and 2011, demonstrating the continued demand for all three BBJ variants among private jet owners and operators.

6. Dassault Aviation  

The Paris-based company Dassault Aviation is well-known in the world of military aviation for developing high-quality fighter aircraft. As early as 1954, the firm had already conceptualized a sleek business jet with two jet engines tucked beneath the wings. The Méditerranée was a proposal that never saw the light of day because it was determined that mass production of the plane would be too expensive.

The first actual Mystère 20 model appeared in 1963. It was the company’s first business jet and set the tone for the legendary Falcon series, which later adopted a style very similar to the Méditerranée.

With a certificate of airworthiness issued in 1965, 500 Mystère 20s were manufactured, with four a month going to Pan Am. The next year, however, the American airline became tired of the concept of promoting an aircraft with a French name, and the name was changed to the Falcon 20. Over the following decade, even more Falcons were built, culminating in 1976 with the first voyage of the Falcon 50, a model with increased speed and range.

Dassault has released many mid-sized variants and one huge model, the Falcon 7X, with three engines and a range of approximately 6,000 nautical miles in recent years.

7. Embraer  

Embraer, with its roots in Brazil, has been a mainstay in the aerospace industry ever since it was founded in 1969, thanks to its dependable turboprops. Embraer was sold during privatization to avert bankruptcy in 1994 after producing a variety of military aircraft in the 1970s, a regional airliner in 1985, and Piper aircraft beginning in 1974. The corporation made headlines around the turn of the century when it said it will begin production of its first business jet under the Legacy program.

The inaugural flight of the Legacy 600 occurred in 2001. It is available in a shuttle configuration with 16–37 passengers and an executive configuration with 10–16 seats. Since 2006, Embraer has been touring the United States with mock-ups of its new Phenom 100 business jet and Phenom 300 large business jet, thanks to the Legacy’s continued success as a popular mid-sized aircraft. The Phenom 100 entered service the following year, just three months before the considerably bigger Lineage 1000 received

8. Honda  

The Greensboro, North Carolina-based Honda Honda Aircraft Company produces luxury aircraft. The HondaJet series is designed and manufactured by this firm, which is a division of the Japanese Honda Motor Group.

A first for Honda, the HA-420 HondaJet is a private air transport. It’s a twin-engine light business aircraft with seating for eight. Engines for this plane are mounted in the wings, a first for commercial planes. More than 150 HA-420s have been sold as of March 2020, after having been delivered to clients as early as 2015.

The avionics and range of this private jet may be increased by 100 to 120 nm with the help of an APMG (Advanced Performance Modification group) upgrade.

To the public, the HondaJet Elite was introduced in May of 2018. The HA-420 has been modified with new features, including a longer range (2,661 km), a more comfortable cabin, and a more advanced cockpit.

9. Pilatus  

You’ve probably never heard of one of the top private aircraft builders in the world. Although the Swiss manufacturer Pilatus may not be well-known to the average consumer, it is highly regarded among those who can afford private jets. Private jet owners overwhelmingly favored Pilatus as the most dependable brand.

In particular, Pilatus excels in producing single-engine turboprops and other similar compact aircraft. The PC-12, PC-24, and PC-9 are the three most widely purchased models.

Located in the town of Stans in the Swiss canton of Nidwalden lies the airplane factory Pilatus. From its beginnings as a manufacturer of single-engine turboprop aircraft in 1939, the firm has risen to dominate the industry. However, it is also well-known for the PC-9 and PC-21 military training aircraft it manufactures.

10. Nextant

The headquarters of Nextant Aerospace can be found in Cleveland, Ohio. As a company, Nextant is well-known for its reputation for totally revamping older planes. When it comes to the business jet sector, this firm pioneered the idea of remanufacturing aircraft in 2007.

The Nextant 400XTi is the most well-known version; it is an updated Hawker Beechcraft 400 powered by Williams FJ44-3AP engines and fitted with a new Rockwell Collins integrated avionics suite. With four passengers, the Nextant 400XTi, which debuted in October 2011, has a range of 3,717 kilometers and cuts operating expenses by 29 percent.

Later, in 2017, Nextant introduced the Nextant 604XT, a remodeled version of the Bombardier Challenger 604. Nextant upgraded the avionics with a Rockwell Collins ProLine Fusion system, revamped the interior, and made it more aerodynamic. The extended range of this private jet is 4,500 nautical miles (8,334 km).

Top Private Jet Brands and Top Private Jet Manufacturers In the World 

In this guide we covered some of the world’s best private jet brands and private jet manufacturers. We hope you found this guide helpful when searching for your next private jet purchase or chartered flight.