Jet Out takes delivery of 15th CJ4 Gen2, largest US charter CJ4 fleet; Co-Lease revision due in November
Why It MattersA charter operator building scale on one aircraft type, with each jet based near its owners, shows how owner-programme economics reward fleet commonality and local bases over broad type diversification.
What happened
Milwaukee-based Jet Out has taken delivery of its 15th factory-new Cessna Citation CJ4 Gen2 from Textron Aviation, giving it the largest fleet of Citation CJ4s in US charter service. The fleet operates across five bases. Since 2024 the company has expanded beyond its Milwaukee headquarters, opening regional bases in south Florida, Scottsdale and Fort Worth, and building a hangar in nearby Waukesha. Each aircraft is based close to the owners it serves.
Company flight records show Jet Out's flight hours in the first nine months of 2026 rose 92 per cent over the same period in 2025. In the 12 months through September, the fleet flew more than four million miles to 659 airports across all 48 contiguous states and 15 other countries and territories.
The latest aircraft, N365NE, was named to mark every day of the year: the 365 days Jet Out operates. Every Jet Out tail number ends in NE, for Nonstop Efficiency. The company says no day has passed this year without a Jet Out flight. President Matt Wild said the aircraft belongs to the schedulers, dispatchers, concierges, pilots and technicians who support owners every day. CEO Joe Crivello said the CJ4 Gen2 remains the company's foundation and that it is evaluating what would best complement it as owners say where they want to go next.
Jet Out is an FAA/DOT-certified direct air carrier operating under 14 CFR Part 135 and offers three programmes: co-ownership, co-lease and private charter. In November it will introduce the next evolution of its Co-Lease programme. In October 2025 the company had projected its fleet would reach 17 CJ4 Gen2s by the end of 2026.
Separately, Textron rolled out the first production CJ4 Gen3 on 20 October 2026. It carries Garmin G3000 Prime avionics, integrated autothrottles and Garmin Emergency Autoland, and retains the Williams International FJ44-4A engines and overall airframe of the Gen2.
Industry impact & what to watch
Jet Out's approach shows how owner-based charter programmes tend to scale: a single aircraft type keeps training, maintenance and scheduling uniform, while placing each jet close to its owners shortens positioning legs. Concentrating on one model across five bases is a different growth path from assembling a mixed fleet of many types.
The Gen3's arrival, with the same engines and airframe as the Gen2 but new avionics and autothrottles, gives a fleet built around the Gen2 a nearby upgrade path within the same family. Crivello's comment that the company is evaluating what would best complement the CJ4 Gen2 leaves open whether any future addition comes from that family or from another type.
The nearest dated milestone is November, when Jet Out introduces the next evolution of its Co-Lease programme. The terms of that revision, and whether the fleet reaches the 17 CJ4 Gen2s the company projected for the end of 2026, will show how much of the 92 per cent rise in flight hours converts into further fleet growth.
