Charter a Citation XLS+ from Miami to New York

Charter lives and dies on availability, and the XL line is the most numerous midsize family in the US fleet. On a corridor as trafficked as this one, that depth means an XLS+ can usually be confirmed inside 24 hours, swapped like-for-like if a mechanical intervenes, and priced keenly because several operators are quoting against each other for your trip.

The cabin follows the proven Excel recipe — 5 ft 8 in of headroom over a dropped aisle, a four-seat club with fold-out worktables, plus forward and aft singles. What the plus-model adds is polish: quieter engines, smoother autothrottle-era systems management for the crew, and interiors that generally date from 2008 onward, so the tail that meets you at Opa-locka feels current rather than classic.

It is honest about its numbers. Cruise is Mach 0.75 — the XLS+ gives away a few knots to the Gulfstream G150 or Learjet 60XR — but on a 2.5-hour leg the difference is minutes, and its short-field ability keeps Westchester County Airport (HPN) and Morristown open on days Teterboro slots tighten. Crews like its manners in gusty coastal weather, and dispatch reliability across the fleet is a known quantity after two decades of hard charter service.

The decision usually comes down to vintage versus budget. The earlier Citation Excel flies the same trip in the same cabin shell for roughly $3,000 less; the XLS+ answers with newer systems and, tail for tail, fresher interiors. Frequent flyers on the corridor often split the difference — Excel for the routine Tuesday hop, XLS+ when clients or family are aboard.

We arrange XLS+ flights exclusively with FAA Part 135 operators, two pilots up front, and we send you the specific aircraft — registration, year, interior photos — before you commit. Morning departures out of Opa-locka or Fort Lauderdale Executive reach Teterboro before the first Midtown meeting; the 15-minute FBO arrival makes an 8 a.m. wheels-up perfectly civilised. Evening returns run just as smoothly in reverse.