The Cessna Citation Latitude is a midsize business jet with a six-foot-tall, flat-floor cabin for up to nine passengers. NetJets flies the largest fleet, making the Latitude one of the most common bizjets over US cities.
Citation Latitude at a glance
- First flight
- 2014
- Length
- 62 ft 3 in (19.0 m)
- Wingspan
- 72 ft 4 in (22.1 m)
- Engines
- 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306D1 turbofans
- Seats
- 6–9 passengers
- Cruise speed
- ~446 kt (513 mph)
- Service ceiling
- 45,000 ft
- Range
- ~2,700 nmi
How to recognize the Citation Latitude
The Latitude has a wide, round fuselage, a T-tail and a moderately swept wing.
- Tail: a T-tail with the horizontal stabilizer on top of the fin.
- Wing: moderately swept, long, without winglets.
- Engines: two PW306D1 turbofans on the rear fuselage, slightly larger than those on smaller Citations.
- Fuselage: plump and round, with large oval windows; the body looks wide for its length.
- Nose: pointed, with a smooth slope down to the cockpit windows.
- Door: a large airstair door on the left side forward of the wing.
- Altitude: often FL410 to FL450.
The Citation Excel/XLS has a straight wing and a lower tail. The Challenger 350 is a bit longer, with winglets and a sharper nose. Telling these apart from the ground is hard; check the live type code.
Seen from the side, the Latitude's fuselage looks deep and round, with the wing set low beneath it and the engines mounted high on the rear fuselage just ahead of the swept fin. Like many Citations it uses trailing-link main landing gear for smooth touchdowns. Its larger sibling, the Citation Longitude (type code C700), has a similar T-tail layout but a noticeably longer cabin with more windows, so a quick window count helps separate them.
Where and when you'll see it
NetJets (callsign EJA) is the largest Latitude operator, and Flexjet, charter companies, corporations and private owners fly many more. Latitudes fly coast-to-coast and regional trips, often from business airports like Teterboro, Van Nuys, Dallas Love and Palm Beach.
Typical cruise is FL410 to FL450. On ADS-B the type code is C68A; callsigns are often EJA for NetJets or an N-number. Expect heavy traffic around New York business airports and Florida in winter.
Because fractional programs move jets to wherever owners need them, many Latitude flights carry no passengers at all; they are repositioning legs to the next pickup. Ski towns such as Aspen, Vail and Jackson Hole see a surge of Latitudes in winter, while Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and the Hamptons get busy in summer. Expect a burst of departures on Friday afternoons and returns on Sunday evenings.
Easily confused with
- Cessna Citation Excel / XLS: The Excel has a straight wing and a lower horizontal tail.
- Bombardier Challenger 300 / 350: The Challenger 350 has winglets and a slightly sharper nose.
- Embraer Phenom 300: The Phenom 300 is smaller, with winglets and a slimmer cabin.
Quick facts
- The Latitude has a flat floor and about 6 ft of cabin height, unusual for a midsize jet.
- Its wing was derived from the earlier Citation Sovereign's.
- NetJets has ordered Latitudes in large numbers and flies the biggest fleet of the type.
Citation Latitude questions
What is the Citation Latitude's type code?
The ICAO type designator for the Citation Latitude is C68A.
Who flies Citation Latitudes?
NetJets is the largest operator, with Flexjet, charter companies and private owners flying more.
Cities where it's a regular
Spot one live
Open the live sky tool and look for C68A in the type column, or browse the live map on airplanes.live.