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Courtesy Gulfstream
When it comes to private jets, it’s all about the need for speed. New York to L.A. in under four hours, multiple business meetings in different cities on the same day, home in time to tuck in the kids.
As time pressures increase, forcing most of us to go faster—and with private flyers, farther—jet makers are pushing the boundaries to develop aircraft that approach supersonic speeds, starting at Mach 1, or 767 mph, and faster.
That already happened with one new aircraft whose advertised speed is sub-sonic. In initial flight tests, Bombardier’s $78 million Global 8000 flagship hit Mach 1.015 (or 778.7 mph). Some analysts expect France’s Dassault Falcon 10X, scheduled to go into service in 2025, to exceed its predicted Mach 0.925 top speed.
In the wings, so to speak, are Concorde-inspired private jets from start-ups like Boom and Spike, designed for supersonic-plus speeds as high as Mach 1.7, or 1,300mph. That’s Atlanta to Madrid in four and a half hours, compared to eight when flying commercial.
Here are nine of the fastest private jets, most flying now and a few that may—or may not—eventually populate the skies.
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Bombardier Global 8000 – Mach 0.94 (721 mph)
Image Credit: Courtesy Bombardier Aerospace Bombardier’s upcoming new flagship Global 8000, has already gone supersonic with a speed of Mach 1.015, or 778 mph. With a certified top speed of Mach 0.94, it’s the fastest civil aircraft since Concorde. In addition to its remarkable velocity, the Canadian-built jet will have a range of 9,200 miles, taking its 19 passengers nonstop across the world, on key routes like Houston to Dubai, Los Angeles to Sydney, and London to Singapore. The GE Passport-engines on the 8000 will also break new ground in passenger comfort when it enters service in 2025. Features include new, zero-gravity Nuage seats that reduce lower back pressure and improve blood flow, plus Bombardier’s Soleil circadian rhythm-based lighting system that helps combat jet lag. Priced from $78 million
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Cessna Citation X+ – Mach 0.935 (717 mph)
Image Credit: Courtesy Textron Aviation It was the rocket ship of the private jet world when it took to the skies in 2012. Certified by the FAA at an astonishing Mach 0.935, or 717 mph, Cessna’s Citation X+ was the fastest private jet you could buy at the time. The replacement for the much-loved Citation X, the stretched X+ features a pair of high-mounted Rolls-Royce turbofans giving it a cruise speed of over 600 mph and a 4,000-mile range. Inside is seating for up to 12 and a Garmin G5000 glass cockpit. With a price tag starting at $23 million, it was also, at the time, one of the least expensive private jets on the market. By 2018 production ended after 24 examples, compared to 314 original Citation Xs. Priced from $23 million
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Dassault Falcon 10X – Mach 0.925 (710 mph)
Image Credit: Courtesy Dassault Aerospace Powered by the newest, most powerful member of the Rolls-Royce Pearl turbofan family, Dassault’s upcoming Falcon 10X will have a bullet-fast top speed of Mach 0.925, or 710 mph. It’s the first Rolls-Royce engine to be used by the French builder, and Rolls is, in turn, marking the partnership by badging the new engine Pearl 10X. In addition to speed, the 10X will also go the distance, giving the new Falcon a range of around 7,500 miles while running on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAV). Boasting the largest cabin in the segment, the widebody Falcon is already being dubbed “the flying penthouse,” with a spacious master suite featuring a queen-sized bed, an oversize bathroom with full stand-up shower, and cool Scandinavian-style modular furniture. Priced from $75 million
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Gulfstream G700 – Mach 0.925 (710 mph)
Image Credit: Courtesy Gulfstream With more than 40 National Aeronautic Association speed records under its belt, Gulfstream’s G700 recently blasted from the company’s Savannah, Georgia headquarters, to Tokyo in just 13 hours at Mach 0.89/682 mph. Its top cruise speed is Mach 0.925, or 710 mph. Powered by twin Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 turbofans, delivering a combined 36,000 pounds of thrust, the G700 can get airborne in just over 6,000 feet of runway. Creature comforts for the 18 passengers include lay-flat seats and a full bedroom in what is being billed as largest cabin in the industry. And the view out is impressive, courtesy of the G700’s 20 oversized oval windows. Priced from $75 million
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Bombardier Global 7500 – Mach 0.925 (710 mph)
Image Credit: Courtesy Bombardier Aerospace Private jet of choice for Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg, Bombardier’s Global 7500 has been one of the Montreal-based builders most-successful jets since its first flight in 2016. With well over 100 of these $75 million super-luxe jets in service—15 for charter with VistaJet alone—it’s still the world’s largest, fastest and longest-range private jet. Of course, that will change when Bombardier’s new Global 8000 flagship starts deliveries in 2025. But until then, the 7500 still offers a top speed of Mach 0.925, a New York to Hong Kong range of over 8,600 miles. Four separate cabins, a lavish bedroom suite with full shower, a conference suite with full-cabin-width table, and a 55-inch TV are among the choices owners can make. Priced from $75 million.
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Falcon 8X – Mach 0.90 (690 mph)
Image Credit: Courtesy Dassault Aviation Twin engines are good on a jet. But when you’re flying nonstop from New York to Beijing, or punching out of the short 3,800-foot-long La-Môle-Saint-Tropez airport in the South of France, there’s comfort in having three. That’s long been the appeal of Dassault’s triple-engined Falcon 8X that was first certified in 2016. The bigger, faster brother to Dassault’s other tri-engine offering, the Falcon 900LX, the 8X can transport up to 16 passengers in stretch-out comfort for up to 7,400 miles at speeds up to Mach 0.90 or 690 mph. Powered by highly efficient Pratt & Whitney Canada PW307D turbofans, there’s a combined 20,000 pounds of thrust on tap for those short take-offs. They’re super quiet, too; at the 8X’s Mach 0.8 cruise speed, noise levels in the cabin measure just 52 dB or less. Priced from $59 million.
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SyberJet SJ30i – Mach 0.83 (637 mph)
Image Credit: Courtesy SyberJet When you want speed in a smaller package, options are more limited. Claimed to be the world’s fastest, longest-range compact business jet – with the emphasis on the word “compact”—the SJ30 from Cedar City, Utah-based SyberJet has space for six aboard and can be flown by one pilot at Mach 0.83, or 637 mph. Level out at 49,000 feet and this four-passenger SJ30 has a range of around 2,800 miles. One of the SyberJet’s standout features is its fatigue-reducing sea-level cabin pressure at an altitude of 41,000 feet. Williams International FJ44 turbofans, each providing 2,300 pounds of thrust, allow the SyberJet to take off on a 3,000-foot runway. Priced from $9 million
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Spike S-512 Supersonic Business Jet – Mach 1.6 (1,227 mph)
Image Credit: Courtesy Spike Aerospace New York to London in three and a half hours. Los Angeles to Miami in just over two, London to Tokyo in a mere five and a half. All courtesy of a Mach 1.6, or 1,227 mph top speed. That’s the blue-sky promise of Boston-based Spike Aerospace and its supersonic Spike S-512 business jet. In development since 2011, few concrete details have emerged, apart from renderings of its proposed windowless 18-passenger cabin where the view outside is projected on huge, curved, cabin-side screens. Its QSF—Quiet Supersonic Flight—technology, the company claims, will reduce a sonic boom to little more than the sound of a soft clap at ground level. No word yet on when a prototype will fly. Projected price $125 million
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Boom Supersonic Overture – Mach 1.7 (1,300 mph)
Image Credit: Courtesy Boom Supersonic It’s guaranteed to become the ultimate private jet for the world’s uber-wealthy. The Boom Overture supersonic jet, currently under development in Colorado, will be a Mach 1.7 or 1,300 mph, supersonic jet with a 4,900-mile range. Scheduled to start test flights in 2027 and go into service in 2029, it’ll first be offered as a 65- to 80-passenger commercial jet, with United, American and Japan Airlines having already placed orders for a total of 130 aircraft. While noise restrictions will prevent the Overture from flying supersonic over land, on trans-ocean routes, like New York to London, it will likely cut flying time in half compared to regular commercial jets. Projected price $200 million