Aircraft
Embraer Phenom 300: Specs, Range, and Cost to Fly
Verified Embraer Phenom 300 and 300E specs
The Embraer Phenom 300 has been the world’s best-selling light jet for 14 consecutive years, and that record is the most useful specification on the page. Embraer confirmed the streak using delivery data from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, after shipping 72 more of them in 2025. More than 900 are in service. If you charter a light jet in North America or Europe, this is probably the aircraft that shows up.
What the Embraer Phenom 300 is
The Phenom 300 is a single-pilot-certified light business jet that entered service in 2009. The current production version, the Phenom 300E, launched in 2020 with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535E1 engines rated at 3,478 pounds of thrust each and a Garmin G3000 Prodigy Touch flight deck.
Embraer launched a further update, the Phenom 300EV, in July 2026. It raises published range to 2,055 nm, adds roughly 430 pounds of payload through a higher maximum zero-fuel weight, and becomes the largest business jet fitted with Garmin Emergency Autoland. Deliveries are expected from 2028, so the 300E is the aircraft you will fly for the next several years.
Range, speed, and altitude
The Phenom 300E flies 2,010 nautical miles with NBAA IFR reserves and five occupants, cruises at up to 464 knots, and operates to 45,000 feet. Takeoff distance is 3,209 feet at sea level.
Two of those numbers matter more than the range figure. The 45,000-foot ceiling puts the aircraft above most airline traffic and most weather, which is why Phenom legs are often smoother than the same route in a regional jet. And the 3,209-foot takeoff distance opens short runways that heavy jets cannot use — Aspen, Sun Valley, and hundreds of general-aviation fields close to where people actually go.
Cabin pressurization is set to a 6,600-foot maximum cabin altitude, the best in the light-jet class. On a four-hour leg that difference in cabin altitude is something passengers feel when they land, even if they cannot name it.
The 2,010 nm range is a five-occupant number. Add passengers and bags and the practical range falls, because fuel and payload compete for the same weight allowance. Ask any operator for the aircraft’s range with your actual passenger count before you book a transcontinental leg.
Cabin and seating
The Phenom 300 cabin is 4 feet 11 inches high and certified for up to 10 occupants. Most charter aircraft are configured for six or seven passengers, with an enclosed lavatory at the rear and a baggage compartment that is large for the category.
Nobody stands up in this cabin. At 4 feet 11 inches you move down the aisle bent over, and that is the tradeoff of the whole light-jet class rather than a flaw in this aircraft. The seats themselves sit low in a modified oval cross-section, which is why headroom while seated is better than the raw number suggests.
The in-flight-accessible baggage area and a real lavatory are not universal among light jets. Both are the reason the Phenom 300 wins comparisons against cheaper aircraft in the same tier.
What a Phenom 300 costs
Embraer does not publish a list price. Market reporting puts a new Phenom 300E in the $11 million to $12 million range, and charter rate cards for the type generally run $3,200 to $4,000 per flight hour.
The hourly rate is not the trip price. Here is a Chicago Executive to Naples, Florida round trip — about 1,030 nm each way — with six passengers, two nights on the ground, at $3,600 per hour:
| Line item | Math | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Flight time | 2.5 h each way = 5.0 h × $3,600 | $18,000 |
| Repositioning | 0.5 h ferry | $1,800 |
| Landing, ramp, handling | Both ends | ~$1,200 |
| Crew overnights | 2 crew × 2 nights | ~$800 |
| Catering | Two legs | ~$300 |
| Subtotal | $22,100 | |
| Federal excise tax | 7.5% of taxable transportation | $1,658 |
| Segment fee | 6 pax × 2 segments × $5.30 | $64 |
| Total | ~$23,820 |
The tax lines are the IRS 2026 rates for domestic charter. Split six ways, the trip is about $3,970 per person round trip.
The comparison nobody runs: per seat against first class
Six first-class round-trip tickets on that route cost roughly $5,000 total. The Phenom costs about $23,800. Private does not win on money, and any broker who tells you it does is quoting an empty-leg price against a walk-up fare.
What the $18,800 premium buys is time. Commercial door-to-door on that trip runs about seven hours each way once you count the drive to O’Hare, the two-hour arrival buffer, the flight, and the bag wait. The Phenom, leaving from a general-aviation field 30 minutes from the office and landing at Naples itself, is about three hours door to door. That is roughly seven hours saved per person round trip, or 42 person-hours across the group — about $445 per person-hour of time bought.
Run that number against what an hour of your team’s time is actually worth. For a family holiday it rarely clears. For six executives with a Monday deadline it often does. That single division is a better buying test than any spec sheet, and it is the calculation most first-time charter customers never make. Our private jet cost per hour guide runs it for the larger classes.
Phenom 300 vs a midsize jet
| Phenom 300E | Typical midsize jet | |
|---|---|---|
| Rate per hour | ~$3,600 | ~$5,500 |
| Range | 2,010 nm | ~3,000 nm |
| Cabin height | 4 ft 11 in | ~5 ft 8 in |
| Passengers (typical) | 6–7 | 8–9 |
| 1,030 nm leg, one way | ~$9,000 | ~$12,700 |
| Verdict | Wins under 1,500 nm with 6 or fewer | Wins on range, headroom, and group size |
The midsize jet is faster on paper, but on a two-and-a-half-hour leg the time difference is about 10 minutes. You are paying roughly $3,700 for that leg to stand up in the cabin. Whether that is worth it depends almost entirely on leg length: past three hours, headroom stops being a luxury.
When the Phenom 300 is the wrong aircraft
Three situations rule it out. Hot-and-high airports in summer cut light-jet performance sharply, and a Phenom that easily handles a 4,000-foot runway at sea level may need far more at a mountain field in July. Ask for a runway analysis for your actual date, not a generic figure.
Full-fuel payload is the second. A Phenom loaded for its maximum range cannot also carry a full cabin and everyone’s luggage — that is physics, not a defect, and it applies to every light jet. Ski trips are where this bites, because bags are heavy and mountain airports are exactly where you do not want to be weight-limited.
Third, there is no flight attendant on a light jet. On a four-hour leg with a full cabin, no galley service and a 4-foot-11 ceiling wear on people. If most of your flying looks like that, price a Challenger 350 or another super-midsize before defaulting to the light-jet tier.
How to fly a Phenom 300
The Phenom 300 is the entry aircraft in most jet card programs, which makes it the cheapest way to buy guaranteed private access. On-demand charter through a broker is the alternative and costs less per trip if you are flexible on dates. Owner-flown purchase suits pilots who fly enough hours to justify $11 million-plus of capital.
If you are new to this, start with our guide to chartering a private jet, then compare jet card memberships against on-demand pricing. Empty-leg flights on this type are common and are the one case where private genuinely competes with a full-fare airline ticket.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many passengers fit in an Embraer Phenom 300?
The Phenom 300E is certified for up to 10 occupants, but most charter operators configure the cabin for six or seven passengers. That leaves room for luggage and a comfortable club seating arrangement, and it reflects the payload the aircraft can carry alongside a useful fuel load.
What is the range of a Phenom 300?
2,010 nautical miles for the Phenom 300E, with NBAA IFR reserves and five occupants. The newer Phenom 300EV raises that to 2,055 nm, but it is not expected to reach customers until 2028. Adding passengers and bags reduces the practical range on any given trip.
How much does it cost to charter a Phenom 300?
Broker rate cards typically run $3,200 to $4,000 per flight hour. A realistic two-night domestic round trip of about 1,030 nm each way lands near $23,800 once repositioning, handling, crew overnights, the 7.5% federal excise tax, and segment fees are added to the flight hours.
Is the Phenom 300 a good aircraft for long flights?
It is built for trips of up to about three hours. The 4-foot-11-inch cabin and the absence of a flight attendant make longer legs noticeably less comfortable than a midsize or super-midsize jet, and transcontinental US routes usually exceed its practical range with a full cabin.
The short verdict
The Embraer Phenom 300 is the right aircraft for short and medium trips with six or fewer passengers, and it is the best-selling light jet for the plain reason that most private flying looks exactly like that. Charter it or buy card hours on it before you consider anything larger. Then run the per-person-hour math above on your own routes — it will tell you far more than any comparison of cruise speeds.
We update this guide as aircraft, program, and route pricing changes. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll check it.