Super midsize jets, explained

What a super midsize jet is for, and who it fits

A super midsize jet is what you pick when the trip runs past four hours or the group runs past eight. It flies coast to coast nonstop, it is faster than a midsize, and the cabin is wide enough that two people can pass in the aisle. Eight to ten seats, a full stand up cabin on the Latitude and the Challengers, a real galley, and baggage you can reach in flight on some of them.

It fits three signals. The leg runs past four hours, so a midsize would need a fuel stop. The group is eight to ten, or eight with a weekend of bags and gear. Or you want a wide cabin to work, eat and move around in on a long day. If the trip fits inside about five hours and ten seats, this is usually the right call. Past that, look at heavy jets.

The cabin, and what to expect

The Latitude and the Challenger 300 and 3500 have a flat floor and a cabin about 6 ft high, so nearly everyone stands straight. The Challengers are wider, about 7 ft 2 in; the Latitude is about 6 ft 5 in. The Citation X is the exception: a narrower, lower cabin, about 5 ft 8 in high and 5 ft 6 in wide, that trades room for speed. Seats are club style with wide tables, and the Challengers usually add a divan.

The Challengers have a galley that can handle a hot meal. The Latitude and the Citation X have a refreshment center for drinks and a cold tray. Baggage is about 100 cubic feet on the Latitude and the Challengers, reachable in flight on the Challengers, and about 80 cubic feet on the Citation X. Every super midsize jet we source has an enclosed lavatory. Wifi is on nearly all of them, and we confirm it tail by tail.

The types we source

The Citation Latitude and the Citation X are aircraft we place clients on regularly from our sourcing network. The Latitude is the newer design, with a flat floor, a cabin about 6 ft high and about 2,700 nautical miles of range. It seats eight to nine. The Citation X is the fast one. It cruises close to the speed of sound, about fifteen percent quicker than the Latitude on a long leg, and seats eight in a cabin closer to a midsize in width.

The Challenger 300 and 3500 are the wide cabin choice. About 7 ft 2 in across, a divan, a galley for a hot meal, baggage you can reach in flight, and about 3,100 nautical miles of range on the 300 and about 3,400 on the 3500, which is the current production version. When the group is nine or ten and the leg is long, this is where a pilot starts. All three are aircraft available from our sourcing network.

Corridor missions, in words

On our corridor, super midsize is the category for the long weekends and the big family trips. Dallas to Cabo San Lucas is a little over two hours, and a Challenger 300 takes eight adults, their bags and a weekend of fishing gear without a weight conversation. Naples to New York and Naples to Boston are about two and a half hours. Dallas to New York is about three hours, and the Citation X trims it to under three. Nashville to Aspen is under two and a half hours, and a super midsize handles the Aspen departure with a full cabin on days a midsize cannot.

Coast to coast is where the category stops being a choice and starts being the answer. Nashville to Los Angeles is about three and a half hours nonstop. Naples to Los Angeles is about four and a half. On the site, the quote page and every route page show the current ranges for your dates.

What a pilot checks before recommending one

• The airframe. Built in 2005 or later. The Citation X and the Challenger 300 were built for two decades, so we look at the year and the records on each tail.
• Condition and equipment. We review the available inspection history, recent maintenance, avionics and interior updates of the proposed airplane. Its cabin layout and baggage capacity need to work for your group.
• The crew on type. Time on this aircraft, and on a mountain or an international trip, whether they have flown that airport before.
• The leg itself. Winds, the alternate airport and the fuel stop question on a winter westbound leg. If a midsize does the trip for less, we say so.

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