“No traditional business jet will take you closer to the speed of sound,” promises Gulfstream in an announcement about its recently certified G650, which boasts a maximum velocity of Mach 0.925.
But wait: Cessna is claiming a top speed of Mach 0.935 for the forthcoming upgraded version of its Citation X. “At Cessna, we design, engineer, manufacture and fly the fastest civil aircraft in the world…so [customers] can work faster, more efficiently and get the job done,” proclaims Scott Ernest, the company’s president and CEO.
Clearly, we’re not talking here about the speed difference between Concorde and a Greyhound bus. The top speeds of the G650 and Citation X vary by Mach 0.01, which might mean the difference between traveling, in one hour, 611 nautical miles and 618 nautical miles.
Could that really be enough to produce any notable change in one’s ability to “work faster, more efficiently and get the job done”? No—unless perhaps you can “get the job done” in about a minute. On a thousand-mile flight, taking a jet that travels Mach 0.01 faster might allow you to be sipping an espresso in an FBO at your destination by the time a passenger from the slower jet strolls in to order a cup. Granted, this difference could be critical if your jet ran out of caffeine and you needed an emergency shot to remain conscious, but otherwise, who cares?
As it turns out, lots of people do. That’s why aircraft manufacturers make a big deal out of speed variations that, in reality, don’t add up to much. They know there's no shortage of Type-A folks who like to feel they’re making the most of every minute—even when they’re not.
Consider, for example, that the computer industry regularly convinces millions of consumers to add RAM, opt for speedier Internet connections or buy faster processors to cut the time it takes to boot up PCs, download files or open programs. Never mind that these upgrades can cost hundreds of dollars; that the time saved is measured in seconds; or that many of the people who save those seconds also waste hours watching inane YouTube videos.
I confess that I’ve often succumbed to this maximize-every-minute mindset myself. Recently, for example, I discovered a way to bypass a heavily trafficked street and cut my torturous six-minute daily commute by, oh, maybe 30 seconds. That might not sound like cause for celebration but, somehow, it made me feel good. On some level, I think, I sensed that half a minute twice a day would add up. And I was right: after only a week, I’d saved enough time to watch another stupid YouTube video.
Jeff Burger joined Business Jet Traveler in March 2004, a few months after the publication’s launch. Besides editing the magazine, he has written many articles for it and conducted its interviews with such luminaries as Sir Richard Branson, James Carville, Suze Orman, Donald Trump, F. Lee Bailey, and Steve Van Zandt. Burger helped to oversee the introduction of BJT’s annual Readers' Choice surveys and Buyers’ Guide.
During his years with the magazine, it has won well over a hundred editorial awards. In 2011, Burger received the Gold Wing Award for Reporting Excellence from the National Business Aviation Association and the Aviation Journalism Award from the National Air Transportation Association. He has also won writing and editing awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. BJT, meanwhile, was named Best International Publication in 2017 in the Aerospace Media Awards. It was also a Magazine of the Year finalist in 2011, 2013, and 2016 and an Overall Excellence winner in 2018 in competitions sponsored by the American Society of Business Publication Editors.
Before coming to BJT, Burger spent 14 years at Medical Economics, the nation’s leading business magazine for doctors, where he served on the editorial board; directed staff recruiting; oversaw a $2 million annual budget; and was financial editor, news editor, and director of special projects. He has been editor of several publications, including Phoenix Magazine in Arizona, and has been a consulting editor at Time Inc. His articles have appeared in more than 75 magazines and newspapers, among them The Los Angeles Times, Barron’s, Reader’s Digest, Gentlemen’s Quarterly , and Family Circle. Chicago Review Press published his books, Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters, Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounter, Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon, and Dylan on Dylan: Interviews and Encounters. His music writing appears on multiple websites, including his own byjeffburger.com.
Burger, a summa cum laude graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, lives in Ridgewood, N.J. He and his wife, Madeleine, have two grown children. His off-hours passions include cooking, travel, technology, movies, and music.
