Unfortunately, not all programs take off, and the Cessna Citation Columbus is a good example. In the first decade of the 2000s, private jet manufacturer Cessna announced the development of a new game-changer model, the Citation Columbus, destined to revolutionize the business jet market by reflecting the customers’ desires. However, no Citation Columbus jet ever saw the daylight.

A promising, game-changer business jet

In 2008, Cessna unveiled a new private jet variant: the Cessna Citation Columbus. Although externally similar to the already existing Cessna Citation X, the manufacturer had completely rethought the interiors to meet the needs and, more importantly, desires of its prospective customers.

The table below summarizes what you could have expected from this revolutionizing business jet.

According to the manufacturer, the development cost of this new promising jet averaged $775 million of the time, and the certification of the Columbus was planned for 2013, while the estimated cost for this aircraft would have been around $27 million. In Cessna’s plan, the first delivery to customers was planned for 2014. Indeed, by the time the Columbus project was launched, the manufacturer had already received around 70 letters of intent (LOI) from potential customers.

The Columbus’ strength: the interiors

According to the manufacturer, this business jet was destined to revolutionize the business jet market. Why? Because the development of Columbus had been led by the most critical voice – that of the customers.

When Cessna started working on the aircraft’s interiors, it realized it had a chance to make Columbus stand out from the competition by aligning the interiors to the customers’ requirements. To this aim, Cessna organized focus groups with its customers to understand how to design the interiors of the Columbus to be in line with what the market wanted from a business jet but could not find.

This strategy led to an entirely new aircraft that could not be easily found in the market. The interiors of the Columbus were inspired by two main concepts: space and style. The cabin, for instance, was two feet longer than most business jets you could find at the time. A significant difference the Columbus would have brought about was a huge entry area and galley. This spacious area at the aircraft door was something manufacturers did not consider necessary at all for the clients. However, this was what many customers looked for – removing constraint spaces and welcoming passengers in a comfortable and spacious environment.

Like Airbus and Boeing later on, Columbus’ designers thought customers would have appreciated larger windows. Indeed, this would have been another innovative characteristic of the Cessna Columbus. Not only were the Columbus’ windows larger than the other Citation aircraft, but they were also ergonomically placed.

Another innovation of Columbus’ interiors was the lavatory. Again, the improved space was the main difference compared to other business jets’ lavatories. The idea of the designers was to create lots of space without making it look like actual storage but to have it naturally included in the ambiance. This innovation was once again the result of the customer’s voice, which often brought about the absence of space to place amenities or other products one needs when in the lavatory.

The cherry on the pie, however, was the seat. What was different with the Citation Columbus was the seat development process. Indeed, engineers usually design frames that are later decorated and embellished. For the Citation Columbus, on the other hand, the seat was first designed with the passengers’ comfort in mind and then handed over to engineers for certification.

Too good to be true

The Citation Columbus sadly never saw the daylight. In April 2009, Cessna announced the suspension of the project’s development, a project that was destined to lead Cessna into an unexplored and more lucrative share of the business jet market.

According to the then Cessna CEO, Jack Pelton, the decision came following the difficult business jet market conditions at the time of the global financial crisis. By the time the announcement was made, Textron, Cessna’s parent company, had just published its latest financial results, which looked everything but positive. The company had indeed posted continued revenue losses, partially linked to a steep reduction in demand for business jets.

Photo: Thiago B Trevisan I Shutterstock

The suspension of the Columbus project was terrible news for enthusiastic prospective customers and Cessna employees. To face up to the reduced demand for Cessna jets, the company had to lay off 1,600 employees, and a company-wide 4-week furlough was also mandated upon announcement of the Columbus project suspension to meet the decreasing demand levels.

Current Cessna Citation types include:

• 525 Citation M2
• 525 Citation CJ3+
• 525 Citation CJ4
• 560XL Citation XLS+
• 680A Citation Latitude
• 700 Citation Longitude

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