Private Jets and Business Aircraft

Brazilian manufacturer Embraer introduced the Phenom 300 in 2009, and launched the enhanced Phenom 300E in 2017. Overall the aircraft has built a reputation for excellent performance and low operational costs, making it a consistent best sellerin the light jet category. This article looks through the various costs of ownership.

For those looking to purchase a light jet outright, the Embraer Phenom 300 is a competitive option. Reviewers including Kevin O'Leary at Forbes Business Aviation Voice have given the aircraft positive reviews, specifically praising the size of the jet's cabin. The Embraer Phenom 300 boasts the largest space in the light jet class, and offers a large rear baggage compartment of 85 cu.ft, that can accommodate golf bags or skis. Couple this with a range of 1,971 nm (3,650 km) and you start to see why this aircraft has built a solid following.

The SherpaReport has already reviewed the Fractional Ownership Costs of the Embraer Phenom 300, but if you are looking to make an outright purchase, here are the overall costs you should expect to encounter over the ownership lifetime. Conklin and de Decker provided the figures used in this article.

Cost of Ownership

A new Embraer Phenom 300E has a list price of $11.3m. The cost of a used plane typically ranges between $6.0m and $10.7m.

The total cost of ownership per year of the Phenom 300E is $1,676,200 including market depreciation of $113,000 . The figure includes fixed costs per year of $572,000.

Compare that to a 1/16th (50 hours) fractional ownership purchase price of about $800,000. NetJets, Flexjet, Airshare and Nicholas Air all offer the Phenom 300 in their fractional fleets. There are several companies that also offer jet cards specifically on the Phenom 300, including the above fractional operators.

Fixed Costs per Year

The fixed costs of the Phenom 300 primarily consist of crewmember salaries and benefits ($390,390), hangar costs ($44,100), insurance (hull $28,250, single limit liability $16,500), recurrent training ($38,160), and aircraft modernization ($20,400). Other costs in the fixed cost figure of $572,000 include refurbishing, computer maintenance program, navigation chart service and weather service. The details are shown in the table below:

Assuming you fly 400 hours per year, this is equivalent to $1,430 per hour.

Variable Costs per Year

The variable costs of operating the Phenom 300 are dependent upon hours operated and nautical miles traveled. Assuming 400 hours per year of flight time, covering 400,000nm, owners should anticipate variable expenses of $991,200 annually. The largest of these expenses (almost 45% of the total variable cost) is fuel costs, which are estimated at $1,127 per hour out of a total variable cost of $2,478 per hour. This calculation assumes a price of $6.16 per gallon for fuel.

The table below shows the breakdown of the variable costs per hour:

Using the above assumptions, the total hourly cost of fixed and variable would be $3,908 (= $1,430 + $2,478).

The total annual costs for the Phenom 300E, fixed and variable, would be $1,563,200. This is equivalent to $9.77 per nm.

Bringing depreciation into the calculation would add another $113,000 per year, for total costs of $1,676,200.

The decision to purchase a jet outright rather than a jet card or fractional ownership is one that should be made carefully after considering not only the costs, but also how you will use the jet and whether it will meet most of your flying requirements.

(The annual and fixed cost estimates are from Conklin & de Decker)

If you are considering Buying a Plane read the SherpaReport
AIRCRAFT BUYING GUIDE
60 pages of insights, data, advice and cost information.

Available as part of SherpaReport membership for $250.
The Guide walks through all the steps in the buying process and compares multiple planes.