Phenom 100 Charter from Miami

Four seats, and why that number matters more than any other

The Phenom 100EV is a four-seat aircraft in charter service. 4 in the club, a fifth seat available on some airframes. That is the single most important fact on this page, because the difference between four passengers and five is the difference between booking this aircraft and booking something else entirely, and it is the mistake that most often blows up a very light jet enquiry two days before departure.

Where four is the real number, the aircraft is excellent. Two executives and two colleagues to Atlanta and back in a day. A couple with a lot of luggage to the Bahamas. A family of four to Orlando or the Keys. The club seating arrangement puts four people face to face with tables, and at 61 inches the cabin is wider than several aircraft that cost more per hour.

Where four is optimistic, step up. A fifth passenger, even a small one, changes the conversation to the Citation M2 or a light jet, and it is cheaper to find that out now than at the FBO. Any honest operator will tell you the same thing.

Phenom 100 charter Miami specifications

The 100EV is the current variant of the type, and the figures below are typical-configuration published numbers. Individual airframes vary in interior fit and equipment, which matters most for connectivity and least for performance.

Cabin, baggage and the things you notice

Cabin height is 59 inches and cabin length is 11 feet, so this is a compact, seated cabin — four people facing each other with about as much floor as that implies. What redeems it is width and light. At 61 inches across, with large windows and an interior designed by an automotive studio, it does not feel like a tube. The airstair door is a proper one rather than a hatch, which sounds trivial until you have boarded a smaller jet in a Miami downpour.

The baggage compartment is the real argument for this aircraft. 70 cubic feet across the nose and aft holds is more than several light jets offer, and it is why four golfers with bags, or a family with a week of Bahamas luggage, fit here rather than in a bigger aircraft. Skis are not the South Florida use case; fishing rods, dive bags and hard-sided luggage are, and they go.

The lavatory is curtained, at the aft end of the cabin. On a 45-minute run to Nassau nobody thinks about it. On a three-hour leg with four adults it is the reason people spend more. Connectivity is the other gap: rare in this class; plan on cellular before departure. Download what you need on the ground.

Where 1,178 nm gets you from Miami

Range is the second hard edge. 1,178 nm at typical reserves is generous for the price and modest in absolute terms, and Miami's geography makes that cut in a specific way. The very light jet class flies miami to teterboro, nashville, san juan or the turks and caicos; dallas and the eastern caribbean take a stop in strong headwinds — and the Phenom 100 sits at the shorter-legged end of that class, so read the class statement as the ceiling rather than the norm.

The aircraft is certified to 41,000 ft and works at a flight level in the forties on all but the shortest hops, which keeps it above the summer build-ups rather than in them. Range, not altitude, is what limits the map.

The near-Caribbean and Florida picture is straightforward. Key West at 115 nm, Orlando at 160 nm, Nassau at 160 nm and Turks and Caicos at 505 nm are all comfortable. Atlanta at 520 nm is an easy day return. These are the trips the based fleet actually flies.

Northbound is where it gets interesting. Teterboro is 945 nm and Boston is 1,085 nm. The first is inside the book range but not by a wide margin; with four passengers, luggage and a winter jet stream on the nose, a fuel stop in the Carolinas is a real possibility and an honest operator will say so at quoting time rather than at the fuel pump. Boston non-stop is not a trip to plan on. Westward, Dallas at 960 nm is beyond sensible planning and Los Angeles at 2,035 nm is not a conversation.

That asymmetry is the Miami-specific point. From a northern hub a small jet reaches a lot of the country; from South Florida the same aircraft reaches a superb set of islands and a limited slice of the mainland. If your travel is Caribbean and Florida, this is efficient. If it is transcontinental, look at the light jet class or higher.

Rates and what the hourly number leaves out

The typical market range for a South Florida Phenom 100EV is $2,600–$3,300 per flight hour, against $2,600–$3,800 for the very light jet class. It is a range because it has to be: what you are quoted depends on the date, the specific airframe and how far it has to fly to reach you.

On short legs the hourly rate is the smaller half of the bill. A Key West hop with a block time near half an hour still attracts ramp and handling fees at both ends, federal excise tax, and often a daily minimum, so the effective cost per hour of a very short trip is much higher than the headline. The cost guide sets out those components, and the hourly rates page compares this class against the light jets above it.

Positioning is the other variable. South Florida has real depth in this category, so the odds of finding a Phenom 100 already sitting at Opa-locka or Fort Lauderdale Executive are decent — but in the December-to-April peak, the aircraft that is free may be the one in Tampa or Jacksonville, and you pay for the ferry. Booking a few days earlier is the cheapest optimisation available on this class.

Phenom 100EV against the Citation M2

These two aircraft are quoted against each other constantly, and the decision usually comes down to two numbers rather than taste. The M2 carries 5 and flies 1,550 nm; the Phenom carries 4 and flies 1,178 nm. If you need the fifth seat or the extra range, the choice is made for you.

Where the Phenom answers is cabin and baggage. It is wider, it has considerably more luggage volume, and its cabin design is the more modern of the two. For four people going to the islands with real bags, it is the better aircraft. For five people going to New York, it is not in the running. Both are covered on the very light jet class page alongside typical class rates.

Before you book

• Count your passengers honestly, including anyone who might join. Four is four.
• Weigh the bags. Volume is generous on this type; total payload with full fuel is still finite.
• On any leg over about 900 nm, ask the operator to confirm the fuel plan and whether a stop is likely with your actual load and the forecast wind.
• For Bahamas and Turks legs, confirm rafts, vests and the eAPIS filing timeline, and send passport details as soon as the trip is confirmed.
• Ask what the aircraft costs to position to your departure field, and whether a daily minimum applies. Send us the dates and we will price the Phenom against an M2 and a light jet so you can see the difference rather than take our word for it.