Cessna Citation Excel Private Jet Charter

About the Cessna Citation Excel

Some aircraft sell well; some change what their category sells. The Citation Excel, certified in 1996, did the second. Cessna's pitch was deceptively simple: bring genuine stand-up midsize cabin volume to an airframe that operated like a light jet — shorter runways, lower hourly cost, single-pilot certification. The market interpreted the pitch correctly and bought in numbers no business jet before it had matched in its segment. Every Citation midsize since — XLS, XLS+, XLS Gen 2 — descends from the Excel's commercial breakthrough.

The numbers explain the dominance. With 3,300 km of range, a 900 km/h cruise and seats for up to nine, the Excel covers the European working map without compromise: London to Rome, Paris to Casablanca, Vienna to Athens — at runway requirements that keep alpine and city-centre airports in play. Charter pricing around €5,400 per flight hour sits squarely below the descendants the design inspired, supported by a fleet so large that availability is rarely the answer's problem.

The Excel's legacy continues every time a charter quote system surfaces an XLS family aircraft first — which is most days. The 1996 design is still the European charter market's default midsize, three decades on.

Performance Excellence

Nine passengers, 3,300 km of range, 900 km/h cruise — and the field performance that made the type a category-defining choice: runway requirements close to a light jet's, with single-pilot certification keeping crewing flexible. Two Pratt & Whitney PW545A engines deliver the thrust with maintenance economics matured across what became one of business aviation's largest installed bases. Service ceiling to FL450 supports schedule reliability, and a charter rate around €5,400 per flight hour places the Excel below newer midsize variants while flying substantially the same European missions. Its 1996 specifications wrote the modern midsize charter brief — and they still satisfy it.

Cabin Comfort

The Excel cabin made midsize chartering modern. Five feet seven of stand-up height over a flat floor was an audacious specification for its category in 1996 — and after thirty years of refinement across successor variants, the original still delivers the experience that defined the segment.

Up to nine passengers travel in a double-club arrangement, supported by a forward refreshment galley with current-generation equipment and a fully enclosed aft lavatory — the comforts that turned the type into the chartering default. Most operating examples have been refurbished one or more times, so leather, lighting and connectivity read as contemporary in the proportions the Excel established. The cabin altitude and noise treatment make two-to-three-hour sectors land you in working order, and the externally serviced baggage hold absorbs the loads a midsize cabin's worth of passengers create. The cabin you remember from your first European charter booking, very likely, was an Excel-family interior. It still works exactly as it did then — and it is still likely to be what your next booking gets you.

High-speed WiFi keeps you connected throughout your flight, allowing you to work or stay in touch. A full galley enables fresh catering service during your journey. A private lavatory ensures comfort on longer flights.

Why Choose the Citation Excel?

• Efficiency: Optimized fuel consumption at — liters per hour
• Reliability: Powered by proven jet engines
• Flexibility: Access to major airports worldwide
• Comfort: Pressurization altitude of 0 ft for a more comfortable cabin environment

Whether you're traveling for business or leisure, the Citation Excel delivers an exceptional private aviation experience.