Palm Beach–Bahamas is the most-flown private aviation route in the Caribbean, supported by US pre-clearance at PBI and an extensive island FBO network. Winter season (December–April) demand is intense.
198 nm great-circle between PBI and NAS, 50m typical block time.
“Aircraft positioning sets the Palm Beach–the Bahamas number on a 50m sector; flexing around it beats negotiating on rate.”
Depart PBI — Primary departure for Palm Beach. · Arrive ELH — Primary arrival for the Bahamas. · Value pick: Eclipse 550 · Premium pick: Cessna Citation VII
WHAT TO DO NEXT · AIRCRAFT CHOICE DECIDES THIS SECTOR
Aircraft choice matters more than usual here because the limiting field removes classes that otherwise have the range for the sector — the runway, not the distance, sets the short-list.
A second airport with comparable verified data serves at least one end of this pair, so the runway constraint can also be answered by changing the field rather than the aircraft.
ROUTE INTELLIGENCE · AIRCRAFT RECOMMENDATION ENGINE
BEST VALUE
Light Jet
The Eclipse 550 clears both runways and has range headroom on the 198 nm leg without stepping up into a larger, more expensive cabin — the lowest hourly cost that still handles this pair reliably.
Indicative all-in €3,200
MOST POPULAR
Midsize
Midsize aircraft like the Cessna Citation VII are the workhorse of Palm Beach–the Bahamas — they hit the sweet spot on cabin comfort, block time and cost that the majority of charterers pick.
Indicative all-in €3,900
ROUTE INTELLIGENCE · AIRPORT INTELLIGENCE
A private jet mission stands or falls on airport choice. For Palm Beach → the Bahamas we resolve the primary field on each side, then rank the alternatives worth considering with the trade-offs that actually matter to a client — transfer time, curfew, slot pressure, MTOW and helicopter link.
DEPARTURE · PBI
DATA · AIRPORT REGISTER · PUBLISHED VALUES ONLY
ARRIVAL · NAS
DATA · AIRPORT REGISTER · PUBLISHED VALUES ONLY
Route Intelligence · Airport Decision
Every line below for Palm Beach → the Bahamas is drawn from the airport register, published runway length and verified handling facts. Where a figure is not published, we leave it out.
Arrival · the Bahamas
| Airport | Published runway | Class ceiling | From primary | Transfer | FBOs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
01 NAS NAS Primary endpoint | 11,353 ft | ulr | 0 nm | — | — |
02 ELH ELH verified regional alternative | 6,020 ft | midsize | 50 nm | — | — |
Dashes mark values not published for that field — we do not estimate them.
Route Intelligence · Ground Truth
Curated ground facts held for the Palm Beach → the Bahamas endpoints. Transfer times and modes are published values, quoted as held — where a figure is not published, nothing is stated.
Departure · PBI · City access
PBI is 15 min to Palm Beach island; Dec–Apr is the anchor season.
Destination register · localTransfer
Published runway length at PBI and ELH, read against the 198 nm sector.
Departure field
PBI · Palm Beach
10,001ft
Arrival field
ELH · the Bahamas
6,020ft
PBI publishes 10,001 ft of runway, which accepts ultra-long-range aircraft and below at full performance.
ELH publishes 6,020 ft, accepting midsize aircraft and below.
The 198 nm sector is inside the usable range of light jet, midsize, super-midsize, heavy jet and ultra-long-range metal after IFR reserves.
Runway length at ELH (the Bahamas) — not range — removes super-midsize, heavy jet and ultra-long-range from this pair; Midsize is the practical ceiling into the field.
Nonstop and runway-legal on this pair: light jet and midsize.
Payload or fuel trade-offs apply where the published runway sits under the preferred length (super-midsize 6,500 ft preferred; heavy jet 7,500 ft preferred).
ROUTE INTELLIGENCE · PRICING INTELLIGENCE
On Palm Beach → the Bahamas, aircraft positioning is the biggest lever on price today.
PRICE DRIVERS
Aircraft based off-route are repositioned to Palm Beach before pickup — the shorter that leg, the more competitive the quote.
If the aircraft can't pick up a return charter from the Bahamas, the empty repositioning leg is baked into your quote.
Landing, handling and ramp fees on PBI–NAS are set field by field — PBI and NAS each carry their own coordinated-airport surcharge profile.
Across 198 nm the fuel uplift is a bounded line item on PBI–NAS, not the driver of the quote.
Palm Beach → the Bahamas demand cycles pull the 198 nm sector off its low band on peak weeks.
Ramp capacity at NAS constrains the lift available for 198 nm inbounds from Palm Beach — operators quote accordingly.
Weather rarely re-prices PBI–NAS beyond marginal fuel adjustments over 198 nm.
Slot coordination at NAS — peak-season Saturdays especially — forces earlier commitment on Palm Beach departures and raises handling on PBI–NAS.
At 198 nm, PBI–NAS sits far inside a single crew duty period — no augmented crew cost.
Overnight parking at NAS is normally available and adds a defined ramp and handling fee to the PBI–NAS quote.
SAVING OPPORTUNITIES
Saving levers on Palm Beach → the Bahamas
If the aircraft is already positioned closer to another Palm Beach-area field, using it reduces positioning cost and often trims 5–15% off the quote.
Alternative arrivals near NAS can trim handling and slot pressure on PBI–NAS — see the airport comparison above.
PBI ↔ NAS (198 nm) is a corridor we monitor for empty legs — set an alert and match one when your dates flex.
Departing 2–4 hours off the peak slot window at PBI drops handling and slot fees on the 198 nm run to NAS.
198 nm is inside super-midsize range, so a category step down from heavy metal on PBI–NAS cuts the quote with almost identical cabin comfort.
Estimated ranges only · Charter market · Never a live quote
Route Intelligence · Operational
Palm Beach → the Bahamas operational profile
Nonstop feasibility
Well within super-midsize range — comfortably nonstop on this corridor.
Typical flight level
FL280–FL380 on the short 198 nm PBI–NAS hop
Typical routing
Direct PBI–NAS routing, 198 nm great-circle with negligible airway detour.
Runway
the shorter runway on this pair clears heavy metal unrestricted.
Fuel stop likelihood
No fuel stop on 198 nm; PBI–NAS is a single-sector mission for every class we quote.
Cabin service
Light catering only — 198 nm block time leaves no window for a galley service.
Best departure time
Mid-morning (10:00–12:00) departure from PBI clears the weekday slot peak and lands NAS before midday handling pressure.
Measured movements only — aggregated, de-identified and stated without interpretation.
At Palm Beach (PBI) the archive holds 6 recorded repositioning movements (5 outbound, 1 inbound) involving 6 distinct operators.
Source: v_broker_airport_supply · legs_out, legs_in, operators
The types most frequently observed at Palm Beach (PBI) are Cessna Citation CJ3, Cessna Citation Excel, Cessna Citation Ultra, Cessna Citation X, Cessna Citation XLS+.
Source: v_broker_airport_types · aircraft_type, rank
At the Bahamas (NAS) the archive holds 34 recorded repositioning movements (14 outbound, 20 inbound) involving 8 distinct operators.
Source: v_broker_airport_supply · legs_out, legs_in, operators
The types most frequently observed at the Bahamas (NAS) are Learjet 60XR, Challenger 605, Cessna Citation CJ3, Challenger 300, Global Express.
Source: v_broker_airport_types · aircraft_type, rank
Recorded movement at the Bahamas (NAS) concentrates in July and August, which account for 91% of 34 archived legs; September is the thinnest recorded month.
Source: v_broker_airport_months · month, legs
Observed availability, positioning reality and airport friction from our own movement archive — anonymised, never operator-attributed.
Full-charter one-way, desk quote
€2,800 – €4,500
Light Jet through Midsize over 198 nm PBI–NAS, all-in of landing, handling, crew and fuel surcharge. Weekend and peak-season departures out of PBI sit at the upper end.
Price stand: September 2026. PBI–NAS quotes move with fuel, crew duty and slot availability — we re-price at the point of booking.
PBI–NAS supply — thin
PBI — 6 archived movements (5 out / 1 in) from 6 operators. NAS — 34 archived movements (14 out / 20 in) from 8 operators.
Positioning into Palm Beach (PBI)
Few aircraft are recorded as based on the field. The nearest recorded bases are KPBI (0 nm, 13 aircraft), KBCT (18 nm, 6 aircraft), KPMP (26 nm, 6 aircraft).
Positioning into the Bahamas (NAS)
Alongside the based fleet, the nearest recorded bases are MYNN (0 nm, 9 aircraft), KFLL (158 nm, 15 aircraft), KMIA (160 nm, 8 aircraft).
the Bahamas (NAS)
Charter movement in our archive concentrates in July and August (91% of 34 recorded legs), and falls away in September.
Global 7500 / Gulfstream G650 on a short sector
Over 198 nm an ultra-long-range cabin bills roughly €8,100/hour for a flight measured in single-digit hours, and rarely repositions economically to this pair. You pay ULR money for a cabin you cannot use.
Empty Legs
Repositioning legs departing PBI within 14 days, priced per aircraft for up to 19 seats.
LATEST EMPTY LEGS · PALM BEACH → THE BAHAMAS
Checking live inventory…
EMPTY-LEG ALERTS
We scan operator inventory every 12 hours. The moment a leg matches your route, date window and budget, we email you with a direct booking link.
ROUTE INTELLIGENCE · BOOKING ADVICE
LEAD TIME
48–72 hours is comfortable — 12 hours is achievable when aircraft are in position.
BEST BOOKING WINDOW
Tuesday–Thursday midweek is typically the lowest-friction window on this pair.
FLEXIBLE DATES
A ±1-day window opens up meaningfully more empty-leg and repositioning options — worth signalling in the enquiry.
HOW TO SAVE MONEY
CONTINUE READING
More on Palm Beach → the Bahamas
ROUTE INTELLIGENCE · FAQ
Palm Beach → the Bahamas frequently asked questions
ASK A QUESTIONAirborne time is approximately 50m on the 198 nm great-circle sector in a light jet, or about 1h 05m block to block once taxi at PBI and ELH is counted. Runway length at ELH — not range — keeps super-midsize, heavy jet and ultra-long-range off the pair, so these times assume midsize or smaller. Figures are indicative great-circle estimates; actual times move with routing, winds and ATC on the day.
Over the 198 nm sector our desk models light jet charter from €2,800 one-way and midsize from €3,300. Neither field length nor sector range removes a cabin category here, so the spread between light jet and midsize reflects cabin choice rather than an operating restriction on the pair. The two accepted categories sit close together on this sector, so moving up from light jet to midsize changes cabin and range headroom more than it changes the modelled figure. More than one field serves this pair, and the modelled rows above are the ones our desk applies to the primary airport pairing. These are modelled charter estimates for this pair — not live quotes, not observed transactions — and the final figure moves with aircraft positioning and availability on the date.
Cessna Citation VII (Midsize) is our standing pick — Midsize aircraft like the Cessna Citation VII are the workhorse of Palm Beach–the Bahamas — they hit the sweet spot on cabin comfort, block time and cost that the majority of charterers pick.
Curfew handling varies — most GCC airports handle GA on request, but confirm at booking.
Cessna Citation VII covers the 198 nm sector nonstop under normal conditions.
Nov–Mar cool season; Ramadan and August are quieter windows.
Observed pricing
On a 48 nm sector our fixed-price model quotes €3,500 for a light jet and €7,400 for an ultra long range in standard season — 5 cabin classes clear the range and runway test here.
first party operations · confidence 95% · verified 2026-08-18
Peak weeks move the same light jet sector from €3,500 to €4,100, an uplift of 17% on a block time of about 0h 36m.
first party operations · confidence 95% · verified 2026-08-18
Field capability
We track 3 ground-handling and 4 VIP catering suppliers at Palm Beach (Jet Aviation West Palm Beach, Pike Aviation and 1 more), so handling, slots and catering are arranged through named counterparties rather than a broker chain.
first party operations · confidence 95% · verified 2026-08-18
We track 5 ground-handling and 4 VIP catering suppliers at Miami (Pike Aviation, Signature Aviation Miami Opa-locka and 3 more), so handling, slots and catering are arranged through named counterparties rather than a broker chain.
first party operations · confidence 95% · verified 2026-08-18
The longest jet-capable runway across the 3 fields serving Miami is 8,002 ft at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, which sets the largest cabin class that can be dispatched here.
first party operations · confidence 95% · verified 2026-08-18
Longest runway on file is 10,001 ft at PBI and 8,002 ft at OPF; the 8,002 ft at OPF sets the ceiling for this pair, which admits everything up to ultra long range equipment.
first party operations · confidence 95% · verified 2026-08-18
Observed supply
1 charter operator in our verified directory declare a home base at Miami — Vista America — which is why positioning legs from this end are often quotable same-day.
first party operations · confidence 95% · verified 2026-08-18
KNOWLEDGE GRAPH