Jet Out completes 17 Citation CJ4 fleet agreement, plans base expansion

Jet Out has completed a fleet agreement with Textron Aviation for 17 Cessna Citation CJ4 Gen2 light jets, according to Private Jet Card Comparisons. CEO Matt Crivello and President Joe Wild, speaking at the National Business Aviation Association annual convention in Las Vegas, said the next phase involves decisions on the fleet and adding new bases.

The company will not move away from its current days-based formula, the executives confirmed. They declined to say whether future expansion will bring another order for light jets or entry into another aircraft category, but confirmed the fleet will continue to grow.

Jet Out was launched in 2018 but did not expand its version of fractional ownership and jet cards—co-ownership and co-leases—until the arrival of the Textron Aviation light jets. The company began the ambitious growth plan in 2024.

Operating model and base expansion

Jet Out has expanded from its Milwaukee home by adding Miami, Scottsdale, and most recently Fort Worth. According to the reporting, the program offers relatively low hourly rates but with significant trade-offs. As a day-based program, it is most efficient for longer flights and multiple flights in the same day. Members do not get guaranteed availability, although the executives say members nearly always get the access they need.

Members pay repositioning fees to and from base airports if flights start or end outside zones radiating out from UES, SDL, OPF, and FTW. There is always a repositioning flight back to the base airport. The executives said Jet Out sold 75% of the repositioning flights in the Midwest-South Florida corridor last year. They coordinate member flights to reduce empty legs, and they charter their near-new light jets on an ad hoc basis; revenue from those charter flights reduces the additional repositioning costs their program clients would otherwise pay.

With average fleet age under three years, the executives said the program is particularly attractive to flyers who want the most modern aircraft. It is unclear from available reporting when the remaining aircraft from the 17-jet agreement will enter service, or which new bases Jet Out intends to open.