MRO provider Elliott Aviation is launching the Citation XL/XLS Excellence Program, a complete maintenance, interior, paint, and avionics upgrade of the popular twinjet.
Components include scheduled maintenance, upgraded interior with options, new paint, and installation of the Garmin G5000 digital avionics suite. The program also features guaranteed downtime and preferred labor rates on maintenance. Elliott has been installing the G5000 upgrade in the Excel/XLS since it was certified in 2019.
Between 1998 and 2004, Cessna delivered 370 Excels and, at its peak, produced more than 100 per year. A follow-on model, the XLS, sold 329 copies between 2004 and 2009. The main difference between the Excel and the XLS is that the latter provides updated avionics, a 200-pound gross weight increase, and more engine thrust via the uprated PW545B engines, thus eliminating the need to step climb to the aircraft’s 45,000-foot maximum cruising altitude. Fractional ownership company NetJets at one time operated more than 100 of them, and membership jet service Wheels Up uses the model as the mainstay of its jet fleet.
According to aircraft valuation service Vref, used Excels are trading in the $3 million to $4.3 million range, while used XLSs are fetching between $5 million and $6.6 million. More than 120 XL/XLSs had been converted to the G5000 avionics as of late 2023.