Aircraft

Cessna Citation CJ3: Specs, Range, and What It Costs

Cessna Citation CJ3+ specs, range, and pricing

The Cessna Citation CJ3+ can fly 2,040 nautical miles at speeds of up to 416 knots, with seating for as many as nine passengers, though its cabin isn’t tall enough to stand in. In our guides, that’s the key question for any light jet: does the mission really require a stand-up cabin? More often than not, the CJ3+ is the aircraft we come back to. It’s Textron Aviation’s longest-running light-jet success story, with more CJ3-family aircraft flying today than any single competing design. That depth of fleet is why, two decades after its initial certification, it remains a benchmark in its class.

What the Citation CJ3+ Is

The Citation CJ3+ is the light-jet member of Cessna’s CitationJet family, built by Textron Aviation and flown mostly single-pilot. Cessna certified the original CJ3 in 2004, and more than 400 of those were delivered before Textron introduced the CJ3+ update in 2014. The CJ3+’s defining change was avionics. It swapped the CJ3’s Collins Aerospace Pro Line 21 flight deck for Garmin G3000 touchscreen avionics, which trimmed the workload on single-pilot legs, plus a refreshed cabin interior. Textron marked the 600th CJ3-family delivery in April 2021 and calls it the industry’s best-selling light-jet series. Textron states the CJ3 burns roughly 10 percent less fuel and costs about 5 percent less to maintain per flight hour than rival light jets.

Cessna no longer builds a new CJ3+. The current new-build aircraft is the CJ3 Gen2, which entered service on January 8, 2026 with an updated flight deck and cabin. A CJ3 Gen3 has already completed its first flight ahead of a planned 2027 introduction. Those newer variants matter for someone ordering new today. For nearly everyone else, the CJ3+ is what actually shows up for charter, on a jet cardA prepaid block of flight hours on a set aircraft category, bought at a fixed or capped hourly rate. No aircraft ownership is involved., or on the used market. Its performance numbers carry forward largely unchanged into the newer models.

Citation CJ3+ Range and Speed

Cessna’s own published figure for the CJ3+ is 2,040 nautical miles under National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) IFR reserves, with a maximum cruise speed of 416 knots and a service ceiling of 45,000 feet. Two Williams International FJ44-3A turbofans, rated at 2,820 pounds of thrust each, power the aircraft.

That range figure assumes a light load and favorable winds, and real trips rarely match it. Add a full cabin of nine people and their bags, and the practical range drops well below the brochure number. Fuel and payload compete for the same weight budget on every light jet. A four-passenger repositioning legThe flight an aircraft makes empty to reach your departure airport, or to return home afterwards. Operators usually bill it, which is why one-way trips often cost more than half a round trip. can use the full 2,040 nm. A full charter booking usually cannot.

The 45,000-foot ceiling is the number that matters more than most buyers realize. It puts the CJ3+ above the weather and airline traffic that a turboprop has to fly through. That is why a short CJ3+ leg often feels smoother than the same route on a regional airliner flying two altitudes below it.

Cabin Size and Seating

The Citation CJ3+ cabin measures roughly 4 feet 9 inches high, 4 feet 10 inches wide, and 15 feet 8 inches long, excluding the baggage compartment. Nobody stands up back there. That single fact is the defining tradeoff of the whole light-jet class. It is not a flaw specific to this aircraft, and people who fly light jets regularly learn to move down the aisle bent at the waist.

Cessna certifies the cabin for up to nine passengers plus one pilot. That is a maximum of 10 occupants. Real charter bookings usually run six or seven once you count the space a working galley and a real lavatory take up. The lavatory is enclosed rather than a curtained belted seat, which is not universal in this class and is one reason the CJ3+ wins comparisons against cheaper light jets. Baggage capacity is 1,000 pounds across roughly 65 cubic feet of external storage. It is accessible in flight.

What a Citation CJ3+ Costs to Buy

Corporate Jet Investor’s buyer’s guide lists an $8.3 million base price for a new CJ3+, a figure that predates the aircraft’s replacement in Cessna’s current lineup. Trade publication Business Jet Traveler puts the price of the current new-build CJ3 Gen2 at just under $11 million. Use that figure if you are ordering new today rather than shopping the CJ3+ specifically.

The used market is where most CJ3+ buyers actually shop, and it is a deep one. The Jet Agent’s February 2026 market report puts CJ3+ asking prices between $7.69 million and $12.3 million, with aircraft actually selling for $6.9 million to $11 million over the prior six months. Listings averaged 120 days on market, while sold aircraft moved in about 80, roughly two-thirds the time. Realistically priced airplanes sell quickly in this class. Sixteen CJ3+ aircraft were listed for sale at the time of that report, about 5.1 percent of the type’s active fleet. The report calls the CJ3+ one of the most liquid light jets you can buy.

Engine program enrollment is the single biggest swing factor in where an individual aircraft lands in that range. A CJ3+ enrolled on a Williams International engine maintenance program consistently commands more than an identical airframe paying for overhauls out of pocket.

Pricing a Real Citation CJ3+ Trip

Charter rate cards run about $3,200 to $3,600 an hour for a CJ3+, per current listings from brokers including Air Charter Advisors, Monarch Air Group, and Mercury Jets. That quoted rate is not the trip price. Here is a Teterboro–Charleston round trip, about 640 nautical miles each way, five passengers, one night on the ground, built from the parts at a mid-range $3,400 per hour:

That works out to about $4,630 per block hour against a $3,400 quoted rate, 36 percent higher, a bigger percentage gap than you see on a larger jet flying a longer trip. The cause is arithmetic. Repositioning, crew, and fees stay close to fixed regardless of trip length, so on a short light-jet hop they eat a bigger share of the bill. The 7.5 percent federal excise tax and the $5.30 per-passenger segment fee are the IRS 2026 domestic charter rates, confirmed by the National Air Transportation Association. Split five ways, this trip runs about $2,960 per person round trip.

Ask where the aircraft sits the day before your trip. A CJ3+ already parked near your departure airport skips that $1,700 repositioning line entirely, which on a short hop like this one is the single biggest lever you control. See our private jet cost per hour breakdown for how the same math plays out across every class.

Citation CJ3+ vs the Embraer Phenom 300 and Learjet 75

Bombardier stopped building the Learjet line entirely, with the last Learjet 75 Liberty delivered in January 2022, so it is now a used-only comparison rather than a live shopping alternative. Between the two aircraft still in production, the Phenom 300E cruises about 48 knots faster than the CJ3+ at a similar hourly rate, which closes a two-and-a-half-hour leg roughly 15 minutes sooner. That is rarely enough on its own to decide between them. The CJ3+ wins on sheer fleet depth. More of them fly for charter and jet card operators today than either rival, which usually means better availability on short notice. That verdict would flip once the Phenom 300EV reaches the used market at a price close to a CJ3+, since the speed edge stops costing anything extra at that point. See our Citation CJ3 vs CJ4 comparison against its own larger, longer-range sibling.

When the Citation CJ3+ Is the Wrong Aircraft

Anyone who needs to stand up, hold a real meeting in the cabin, or fly more than about three hours in one sitting should look at a midsize jet instead. The CJ3+’s 4-foot-9-inch cabin and lack of a flight attendant are tolerable for a short hop and tiring past that. A Hawker 800XP or similar midsize aircraft costs more per hour but buys a stand-up cabin and an enclosed lavatory that does not require bending over to reach.

Range is the other limit. At 2,040 nautical miles with a light load, the CJ3+ does not reach the West Coast from the East Coast nonstop with a full cabin. It never will, regardless of which generation you fly. If your typical trip is genuinely transcontinental, price a super-midsize such as the Challenger 350 before committing to the light-jet tier on cost alone. And if every leg you fly is under 45 minutes, a turboprop like the King Air 350 does the same short hop for roughly a third less per hour.

How to Fly a Citation CJ3+ Without Buying One

Three access routes exist for this aircraft, and they suit different flying patterns. On-demand charter through a broker costs the most per hour but commits you to nothing beyond the trip you book. Jet cards lock in an hourly rate with guaranteed availability, and light-jet tiers built around the CJ3+ and its rivals sit at the entry point of most card programs. Fractional ownership makes sense once you are flying more than roughly 50 hours a year in this class. flyExclusive, for one, has taken delivery of new CJ3+ aircraft specifically to grow its own fractional fleet.

Start with our jet card comparison if you fly under 50 hours a year, and move to the fractional ownership guide once your flying passes that mark. Below about 25 hours annually, on-demand charter usually beats locking money into either program.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the range of a Cessna Citation CJ3+?

2,040 nautical miles under NBAA IFR reservesA standard fuel-reserve assumption used when manufacturers publish range figures. It means the quoted range already sets aside fuel for a diversion, so it is not pure maximum distance., per Textron Aviation's own published figures. That number assumes a light passenger load. A full cabin of nine people and their bags reduces the practical range, since the aircraft cannot carry maximum fuel and maximum payload at the same time.

How many passengers can a Citation CJ3+ carry?

Up to nine passengers plus one pilot, for a maximum of 10 occupants. Most charter bookings run six or seven passengers once a working galley and an enclosed lavatory are accounted for in the cabin layout.

Does the Citation CJ3+ have a stand-up cabin?

No. The cabin is about 4 feet 9 inches high, so nobody on board can stand upright. That is standard for the entire light-jet category. It is not a defect unique to this aircraft, and it is the main reason buyers who fly longer than about three hours per leg move up to a midsize jet instead.

What is the difference between the Citation CJ3 and the CJ3+?

The CJ3+, introduced in 2014, replaced the original CJ3's Collins Aerospace Pro Line 21 avionics with Garmin G3000 touchscreen avionics and refreshed the cabin interior. The airframe, engines, and core performance carried over largely unchanged. Cessna has since moved new-build production to the CJ3 Gen2 and, most recently, the CJ3 Gen3.

How much does a used Citation CJ3+ cost?

The Jet Agent's February 2026 market report put asking prices between $7.69 million and $12.3 million, with aircraft actually selling for $6.9 million to $11 million over the prior six months. Engine program enrollment is the biggest single factor in where a specific aircraft lands in that range.

How much does it cost to charter a Citation CJ3+?

Broker rate cards run roughly $3,200 to $3,600 per flight hour, but that quoted rate understates the trip price. A short round trip with repositioning, crew, taxes, and fees added typically lands 30 to 40 percent above the hourly rate. That is a bigger percentage markup than you see on a larger jet flying a longer leg.

Fly the Cessna Citation CJ3+ on charter or a jet card before you buy one outright, and price the same trip against a Phenom 300 rather than trusting the cruise-speed spec sheet alone. On most legs this class flies, the two aircraft cost about the same and arrive within minutes of each other.

We update this guide as aircraft, program, and route pricing changes. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll check it.