Citation CJ3 Charter from Miami

The everyday South Florida aircraft

The light jet class exists to serve the south florida workhorse: four to six passengers, two to three hours, everyday business travel, and the CJ3+ is the type that defines it. Six people in the club plus a belted lavatory seat, an hour and a half of flying, and a return the same evening. Nothing about that is glamorous, and it is most of what South Florida charter actually consists of between Monday and Thursday.

Where it separates from the very light jets below it is the door on the lavatory. That sounds like a small thing written down and it is not, because it changes the length of trip a mixed group will accept. A three-hour flight to Barbados or a four-hour repositioning day is tolerable with an enclosed lavatory and awkward without one. It is the single most common reason a buyer moves up from a Citation M2.

The second differentiator is fleet depth. The CJ family is heavily represented among Florida Part 135 operator fleets, which means late bookings, short-notice changes and recovery aircraft when something breaks are all more likely to be available on this type than on something rarer. That is not a performance number, but it is worth real money on a Friday in March.

Citation CJ3 charter Miami specifications

Figures below are for a typical charter configuration. The CJ3+ is the current-generation airframe in this family, and interiors across the based fleet vary more than the performance does.

Cabin, baggage and connectivity

The cabin is 15.7 feet long, 58 inches wide and 57 inches high. That last figure is the one to be clear about: this is not a stand-up cabin, and nobody should book it expecting one. What you get is a longer seated cabin than any very light jet, with a proper club four, a forward refreshment area and space to work.

The lavatory is enclosed — a door rather than a curtain — and it doubles as the seventh seat when the group needs it. Baggage is 65 cubic feet, which handles four to six people's luggage for a week comfortably, and copes with golf bags without a negotiation. It is less than the Phenom 300E offers, which is one of the honest arguments for that aircraft over this one.

Connectivity is better than the classes below: gogo avance l3 on a growing share of the fleet. It is still per-tail rather than universal, so if a working flight is the reason you are chartering, put it in writing on the trip sheet. Cruise is 416 knots and the certified ceiling is 45,000 ft, high enough to sit above most of the summer convective activity that makes South Florida afternoons uncomfortable at lower levels.

Runway performance, and why that matters here

Runway performance is a quiet strength of the CJ family and it maps unusually well onto South Florida geography. Key West International's single runway of roughly 4,800 feet, Naples Municipal at roughly 5,300 feet with its noise programme, and Marco Island Executive at roughly 5,000 feet are all fields where bigger jets need a careful analysis or a payload restriction. The CJ3+ handles them as routine, subject to the day's temperature and weight.

Closer to home the same applies. Boca Raton Airport has a single runway of roughly 6,276 feet, which weight-limits heavier types on departure and rules some out; a CJ3+ can leave there with a useful fuel load, which is why Boca and Delray passengers who want a jet at their local field so often end up on one. Pompano Beach Airpark at roughly 4,500 feet remains a stretch, and most operators will send you to Fort Lauderdale Executive instead.

Opa-locka Executive is where most of these trips actually start. Roughly 8,000 feet of runway, customs on the field, and three FBOs mean no performance conversation at all and a straightforward international clearance on the way home.

Where a CJ3+ goes from Miami

The light jet class from Miami covers miami to new york, boston, dallas, houston, san juan and most of the caribbean non-stop; the west coast is two legs. The CJ3+ delivers that, with the caveat that at 416 knots it is the slower end of the class — a Phenom 300E or Learjet 75 will do the same distance noticeably faster, and on a four-hour leg the difference is measured in half-hours rather than minutes.

The Nassau day trip is the archetype: 160 nm, a published light jet block time of about 35 minutes, aircraft and crew waiting, home for dinner. Turks and Caicos at 505 nm and St Barths via St Maarten at 1,075 nm are both comfortable non-stops. Every one of those needs rafts, vests and eAPIS filing in both directions, which is administrative rather than difficult once the operator has passport details in hand.

Northbound, New York at 950 nm and Boston at 1,085 nm are routine, and Chicago at 1,030 nm is straightforward. Westbound is where South Florida geography bites. Dallas at 960 nm is fine. Aspen at 1,555 nm is within range but is a special-qualification airport with elevation and performance considerations of its own. Los Angeles at 2,035 nm is not a non-stop on this aircraft: that is a westbound transcon into the prevailing wind, and it needs a stop or a bigger jet. A midsize jet is where the non-stop version of that trip starts.

What it costs, and when a cheaper aircraft does the job

The typical market range for a South Florida CJ3+ is $3,400–$4,300 per flight hour, inside the $3,200–$4,800 light jet class band. Treat that as a planning band rather than a quote — real numbers move with the calendar, the tail and who is holding ramp space that week.

Here is the part most brokers skip. On a Key West day trip with three passengers, a turboprop at $1,900–$2,700 does the same job and the jet saves you almost nothing on a leg that short. On a Nassau day trip with four people and light bags, a very light jet at $2,800–$3,600 is a perfectly good answer. The CJ3+ starts earning its premium when the group is five or more, when the leg is over about two hours, or when the enclosed lavatory changes how the trip feels.

The flight hour rate is also not the invoice. Repositioning leg charges, daily minimums, ramp and handling, federal excise tax and crew overnights all sit on top. The charter cost guide works through each in order, and the hourly rates page compares classes side by side.

CJ3+ against the Phenom 300E and Learjet 75

Against the Phenom 300E. The Phenom is faster at 464 knots, carries more baggage, has a wider cabin and an externally serviced lavatory, and prices above the CJ3+ accordingly. If the trip is long, full and international, that money buys something real. If it is a 45-minute island hop with four people, it does not.

Against the Learjet 75 Liberty. The Learjet is faster and has a higher ceiling, with a longer cabin. It is also out of production, which affects fleet size and long-term support rather than any given flight. Buyers who prioritise cruise speed on the longer Caribbean legs look at it; buyers who prioritise availability and operating economics tend to end up back on the CJ3+.

The light jet class page linked below sets all three side by side with class-level rate bands, which is the fastest way to see where each one sits against the others.

Before you book a CJ3+

• Confirm the seat count you need against the layout on the specific tail — six in the club plus the belted lavatory seat is not the same as seven club seats.
• If the flight is a working one, get the connectivity answer on the trip sheet rather than the phone call; Gogo Avance is common on this type but not universal.
• For Bahamas, Turks and Caribbean legs, confirm rafts and vests are aboard and send passport details for eAPIS as soon as the trip is confirmed.
• If a destination is a short or noise-restricted field, ask the operator to confirm performance for your load and the return time before booking anything on the ground.
• Ask what happens if the aircraft goes unserviceable — which recovery aircraft the operator would use and at whose cost. Send us the itinerary and we will get those answers in writing before you commit.