NetJets drops Citation Xs and Falcon 2000s in latest fleet update

By Doug Gollan, July 5, 2020

The world’s largest private jet operator, NetJets, has made a number of fleet adjustments over the past 18 months

NetJets, a division of Berkshire Hathaway, has revealed its current fleet, and there are significant changes.

The biggest move is both its Dassault Falcon 2000s and Cessna Citation Xs are no longer available for jet card, fractional share purchases or leases.

The updated fleet data covers private jets across the combined NetJets U.S. and Europe fleets but excludes aircraft that might be in the fleet but is no longer selling.

Overall, based on the numbers, the total fleet count moved from 506 to 494 aircraft.

NetJets Private Jet Fleet (June 2020)

Key changes can be found across various cabin categories as of June 2020.

Light Jet Cabin (174, down from 189 aircraft in Jan. 2019)

As NetJets continues to take delivery of Phenom 300s it has been exiting Citation Excel/XLS types from its light jet offering. Phenom 300s increased from 86 in January 2019 to 99 as of June 2020. During the same period, the Excel/XLS fleet dropped from 103 to 75. It should be noted that the Excel/XLS is categorized as a midsize jet although NetJets markets it in the light category.

NetJets Phenom 300 — *NetJets has increased its Embraer Phenom 300 fleet from 86 to 99 over the past 18 months*

That could be because NetJet’s card program is a significant entry point for fractional and lease customers. After buying 25 or 50 hours, many decide to commit to fractional shares and leases running three to five years.

Until it launched its Phenom 300 card offering last year, the Excel/XLS was the entry-point into the NetJets fleet.

Overall, the number of light jets in the NetJets fleet dropped from 189 to 174 during the 18-month window.

99 Phenom 300 (up from 86 in Jan. 2019)
75 Citation Excel/XLS (down from 103 in Jan. 2019)

Midsize Jet Cabin (159, up from 128)

The Citation Latitude was the fastest-growing type in the NetJets fleet during the period, with an increase of 37 aircraft, moving the type total from 84 to 121. Like the Excel/XLS, Netjets undersells the aircraft, putting it in its midsize category, although with a maximum takeoff weight of over 30,000 pounds, it is often positioned in the super-midsize category.

NetJets Cessna Latitude — *The number of Cessna Latitudes in the NetJets fleet has jump to 121 from 84*

On the other hand, the number of Citation Sovereign’s declined from 44 to 38, although overall, NetJets’ midsize fleet increased by nearly 25% from 128 to 159 aircraft.

121 Citation Latitude (up from 84 in Jan. 2019)
38 Citation Sovereign (down from 44 in Jan. 2019)

Super Midsize Jet Cabin (87, down from 96)

While four of the new Citation Longitude are now part of the fleet, and the count of Bombardier’s Challenger 350 increased from 73 to 83, NetJets’ 23 Citation Xs that appeared in January 2019 is no longer there. The overall impact is the super-midsize jet dropped from 96 to 87.

4 Citation Longitude (up from 0 in Jan. 2019)
83 Challenger 350 (up from 73 in Jan. 2019)
0 Citation X (down from 23 in Jan. 2019)

Large Cabin Jet (74, down from 93)

Among large-cabin jets, the biggest change was the removal of 27 Falcon 2000/2000EX. At the same time, the Challenger 650s increased from 19 to 24. Its Bombardier Global fleet also grew from 33 to 38 with two more Global 5000s and three Global 6000s. The Gulfstream G450 fleet dropped from 14 to 12. The first Global 7500 is expected to join the NetJets fleet in 2021.