Cessna CitationJet: how 134 jets are really flown
The busiest 5% made more than 12 flights a month and the quietest 5% fewer than 2: over six times as many, on the same type.
At the harder end, one CitationJet in twenty sees a freeze and a thaw on 37% or more of its nights. At the easier end, most see almost none.
The hardest-worked 5% log ≈180 h a year or more; the easiest-used, ≈28 h or less. The middle aircraft sits at ≈76 h.
The harder end, one aircraft in twenty, is at 3,659 ft or more; the easier end at 901 ft or less.
Fatigue
What each landing and pressurization cycle costs the structure: landings per hour and short hops.
The middle CitationJet flies 1.2 hours for every landing. One in twenty lands every 0.8 hours or sooner, the most cycles for its time.
Middle half 1.0–1.6 : 1Harder end: 5% at 0.8 : 1 or lessEasier end: 5% at 1.9 : 1 or more
Middle half 32–62%Harder end: 5% at 80% or moreEasier end: 5% at 16% or less
Middle half 220–433 nmLowest 5%: 150 nm or lessHighest 5%: 717 nm or more
Context, not graded: the tint marks the harder and easier end of the fleet.
Spread of trip lengths
All 134 CitationJetsThe data behind it
Every measure for the 134 North America CitationJets, 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026.| Measure | Fleet median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|
| Hours per landing Each aircraft’s average flight hours per landing | 1.2 : 1 | 1.0–1.6 : 1 |
| Short hops Share of legs under 300 nm | 50% | 32–62% |
| Leg length Median leg | 295 nm | 220–433 nm |
Corrosion
What the air around it does overnight: salt, damp and freeze–thaw.
The middle CitationJet spends 0% of its nights within 2 km of the coast. One in twenty spends 5% or more of them there.
Middle half 0–1%Harder end: 5% at 5% or moreEasier end: 5% at 0%
Middle half 4.9–8.4 hHarder end: 5% at 11.0 h or moreEasier end: 5% at 2.2 h or less
Middle half 1–21%Harder end: 5% at 37% or moreEasier end: 5% at 0%
Context, not graded: the tint marks the harder and easier end of the fleet.
Salt air across the fleet
78 CitationJetsThe data behind it
Every measure for the 78 of the 134 North America CitationJets with enough nights at known fields, 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026 (2 on their record since 1 Jan 2025: too few in the 12 months).| Measure | Fleet median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|
| Salt air Nights within 2 km of the coast | 0% | 0–1% |
| Near the coast Nights within 10 km of the coast | 3% | 0–10% |
| Damp air Hours a day at 80% humidity or more, above freezing | 7.0 h | 4.9–8.4 h |
| Freeze–thaw Nights that froze and thawed within the day | 8% | 1–21% |
| Moisture in the air Average absolute humidity overnight | 8.9 g/m³ | 7.1–10.6 g/m³ |
Engines and brakes
What departures ask of engines, brakes and tires: heat and height, and runway length.
The middle CitationJet takes off at 5,000 ft density altitude or more on 4% of its departures. One in twenty does on 35% or more. Short-runway departures aren't compared yet: we don't have a sourced takeoff distance for the CitationJet.
Middle half 0–11%Harder end: 5% at 35% or moreEasier end: 5% at 0%
Middle half 1,331–2,327 ftHarder end: 5% at 3,659 ft or moreEasier end: 5% at 901 ft or less
Context, not graded: the tint marks the harder and easier end of the fleet.
The data behind it
Every measure for the 134 North America CitationJets, 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026 (2 on their record since 1 Jan 2025: too few departures in the 12 months).| Measure | Fleet median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|
| Hot, high takeoffs Departures at 5,000 ft density altitude or more | 4% | 0–11% |
| Density altitude Typical density altitude at takeoff | 1,884 ft | 1,331–2,327 ft |
Utilization
How steadily the fleet is used: flights, flying days and estimated hours.
The middle CitationJet made 5 flights a month. The busiest 5% made 12 or more, the quietest 2 or fewer.
Middle half 3.4–7.5Harder end: 5% at 12.4 or moreEasier end: 5% at 2.4 or less
Middle half 2.7–5.1Harder end: 5% at 7.9 or moreEasier end: 5% at 2.1 or less
Middle half 56–116 hHarder end: 5% at ≈180 h or moreEasier end: 5% at ≈28 h or less
Context, not graded: the tint marks the harder and easier end of the fleet.
Month by month
12 monthsMedian flights per aircraft that flew that month · darker bar is the busiest month, June 2026
The data behind it
Every measure for the 134 North America CitationJets, every active aircraft (no 40% tracking floor here: on this type it would change which aircraft are compared, not just drop undercounted ones), 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026.| Measure | Fleet median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|
| Flights a month In the months it flew | 5.2 | 3.4–7.5 |
| Days flown a month Days with at least one flight | 3.8 | 2.7–5.1 |
| Estimated hours a year From time in the air | ≈76 h | 56–116 h |
Buying, selling or financing a CitationJet?
See where your CitationJet sits in the fleet.
Enter a tail number to place it against these 134 aircraft. TailCheck grades it on Fatigue, Corrosion, Engines and brakes, and Utilization, with every percentile shown.
Where CitationJets are based and fly
Piedmont Triad is home to more CitationJets than any other field, 3 of the 112 with a home base.
Baton Rouge Metropolitan–Fort Worth Meacham is the busiest route: 53 flights by 1 different aircraft.
Where CitationJets are based
| Field | Share | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|
| Piedmont Triad | 3 | |
| Scottsdale | 3 | |
| Colonel James Jabara | 2 | |
| Addison | 2 | |
| Fort Worth Meacham | 2 | |
| Hayward Air Terminal | 2 |
Busiest CitationJet routes
| Between | Flights |
|---|---|
| Baton Rouge Metropolitan ⇄ Fort Worth Meacham | 53 flights |
| Piedmont Triad ⇄ Raleigh-Durham | 40 |
| Robert J. Miller Air Park ⇄ Greater Rochester | 29 |
| Lake City Gateway ⇄ Tallahassee | 28 |
| Henderson ⇄ Long Beach | 27 |
| Fort Worth Meacham ⇄ Tulsa | 26 |
Longest CitationJet flights
| Between | Distance · time |
|---|---|
| Sacramento Mather → Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood | 2,198 nm · 7 h 02 min |
| John Wayne -Orange → Pittsfield | 2,146 nm · 6 h 03 min |
| Hayward Air Terminal → Richmond -Chesterfield | 2,103 nm · 6 h 12 min |
| Washington Dulles → Sonoma | 2,102 nm · 7 h 10 min |
| Sonoma → Tampa | 2,101 nm · 6 h 03 min |
Busiest CitationJets this year
The busiest CitationJet made 18 flights a month, three times the middle aircraft.
Even the tenth on this list made 12.
Ranked by flights a month · updated monthly
| # | Tail | Base | Flights a month | Estimated hours a year | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N333XA | Phoenix-Mesa Gateway | 18 | 323 h | Check this tail → |
| 2 | N813FM | McClellan-Palomar | 18 | 207 h | Check this tail → |
| 3 | N525MH | Fort Worth Meacham | 15 | 170 h | Check this tail → |
| 4 | N91KK | Lake City Gateway | 15 | 127 h | Check this tail → |
| 5 | N934CW | Palm Beach | 14 | 193 h | Check this tail → |
| 6 | N650CW | Jefferson City Memorial | 14 | 194 h | Check this tail → |
| 7 | N777BP | Piedmont Triad | 13 | 143 h | Check this tail → |
| 8 | N371RM | Columbus | 12 | 122 h | Check this tail → |
| 9 | N46KK | Piedmont Triad | 12 | 133 h | Check this tail → |
| 10 | N717BR | Fort Worth Meacham | 12 | 154 h | Check this tail → |
Do older CitationJets fly differently?
Age matters: by year built, the median CitationJet in each band flew between 62 and 94 estimated hours a year.
Show the tableHide the table
| Serial block | Built | Tracked | Hours a year | Median leg | Short hops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 525-0895–525-0462 | 1999–16 | 26 | 94 h | 292 nm | 50% |
| 525-0974–525-0998 | 2017–19 | 43 | 62 h | 287 nm | 53% |
| 525-1111–605 | 2020–22 | 34 | 73 h | 347 nm | 42% |
| 525-1156–525B0913 | 2023–26 | 22 | 74 h | 289 nm | 51% |
US-registered aircraft only: the FAA registry gives serial number and year of manufacture for 125 of the 134 we track. Built = year of manufacture. Avionics upgrades are fitted by modification and the registry doesn’t show them, so check an aircraft’s records.
What the CitationJet’s certification file says
Regulators publish an operational evaluation for each type: how pilots must be rated and trained, and what training must stress.
Here is what the CitationJet files say, each item with its source.
Crewing a CitationJet
| Item | What the file says |
|---|---|
| Type rating | C525 (single pilot) / C525/D (two-pilot operation), covering the 525 (CJ, CJ1, CJ1+, M2, M2 Gen2) and 525A (CJ2, CJ2+) and 525B (CJ3, CJ3+, CJ3 Gen2) and 525C (CJ4)ANAC OSD Revision 2, p.10 |
| Minimum crew | 1 pilotEASA TCDS EASA.IM.A.078 Issue 19, p.15 |
Sources
| Document | Revision |
|---|---|
| EASA TCDS IM.A.078 — Textron Aviation 525 (Citation Jet) | EASA · Issue 19 · 7 May 2026 |
| ANAC Operational Suitability Data, Flight Crew — Textron Aviation CE-525, 525A, 525B, 525C | ANAC · Revision 2 |
Chartering a CitationJet
13 of the 134 North America CitationJets we track are on our charter list (10%).
Charter aircraft flew a median 127 estimated hours a year on 8 flights a month; the rest flew 76 hours on 5.
Where charter CitationJets are based
| Field | Share | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|
| Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau | 1 | |
| Toronto Pearson | 1 | |
| Addison | 1 | |
| Napa | 1 | |
| Gallatin | 1 | |
| McClellan-Palomar | 1 |
Charter status is our own list, built from FAA records and public listings of charter aircraft. No charter rates: prices depend on the operator and the trip. Check a specific aircraft’s record with its tail number before you book.
CitationJet questions
How many hours a year does a CitationJet fly?
The median North America CitationJet flies about 76 estimated hours a year; the middle half sits between 56 and 116. About 1 in 20 flies more than 180.
How often does a CitationJet fly?
5 flights a month on 4 flying days at the median. About 1 in 20 makes more than 12 flights a month.
How long is a typical CitationJet flight?
The median leg is 295 nm. About 1 in 20 aircraft average more than 717 nm a leg.
Is a high-hours CitationJet a bad buy?
Not by itself. High hours on long legs are gentler on the structure than the same hours on short hops. Look at hours per landing and short-hop share alongside hours.
Where are most CitationJet aircraft based?
In North America, Piedmont Triad is home to the most, followed by Scottsdale and Colonel James Jabara. A base is the field an aircraft touches on most of its flying days, month after month.
Cite this data
The Aircraft Ledger. “Cessna CitationJet fleet statistics.” Data to 31 July 2026. theaircraftledger.com/aircraft/cessna/citationjet
Embed a chart
<iframe src="https://theaircraftledger.com/embed/fleet/cessna-citationjet/fatigue" title="Fatigue" width="100%" height="1180" style="border:0;max-width:960px" loading="lazy"></iframe>Method: Cessna CitationJet aircraft with most departures in North America and at least 20 tracked flights in the latest twelve full months. Flight measures, bases, routes and rankings use ADS-B tracking 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026; corrosion and engines-and-brakes exposure use the same twelve months, or an aircraft’s record since 1 Jan 2025 when it had too few nights or departures in them. Estimated hours from time in the air. Tracking misses some flights, so counts and hours are minimums. ADS-B coverage grew over the window, so we don’t compare one year with the last. Tracking can’t tell one variant from another; the variant split, the busiest table’s variants and the age table use the FAA registry, so they cover US-registered aircraft only. We assume the longest runway at each field, so short-runway figures are conservative. Corrosion measures cover the aircraft we can place on enough nights. Charter status is our own list, built from FAA records and public listings of charter aircraft. About our data