Ask anyone who regularly flies on different private jets what the best private jet they’ve ever flown on is, and they’ll probably say the Bombardier Challenger 350. Indeed, it’s loved by passengers, operators and pilots alike!
Having been produced since 2013, over 350 Challenger 350s have been produced to date, with many more currently on order. Coupled with the 450 Challenger 300s built, makes the Challenger 300/350 family the bestselling in its class by far…
Pre-Bombardier Challenger 350
Over the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, Bombardier acquired several aircraft manufacturers.
In 1986, the company would acquire Canadair. Through this purchase, Bombardier acquired not only Canadair’s many commercial aircraft, but also Canadair’s Challenger 600 line of business jets.
Four years later, in 1990, Bombardier would acquire private jet manufacturer, Learjet, with Learjet’s low-end, low-cost jets complimenting the high-end Challenger 600.
By 1999, Bombardier had hoped to create a middle-of-the-market jet that would bridge the gap between the various Learjet jets and the Challenger 600.
This eventually led to the company unveiling what they called the Bombardier Continental at the 1999 Paris Airshow. However, when the Continental was Introduced to service in January 2004, it had been rebranded as the Challenger 300.
Entering into service, the Challenger 300 would prove to be incredibly popular, becoming a popular jet with private and corporate flyers alike. All in all, 450 Challenger 300s would built – the most in its class by a wide margin!
Despite this success, Bombardier’s competition, namely Embraer and Gulfstream, would release new jets such as the Legacy 500 and G280 that would begin to attract many would-be Challenger 300 customers.
Development
Seeing this, Bombardier would begin secretly developing a heavily updated variant of the Challenger 300, which it called the Bombardier Challenger 350.
Primarily, Bombardier engineers would work on expanding the Challenger’s range and top speed.
To accomplish this, Bombardier engineers would use newer Honeywell HTF7350 engines (rather than the HTF7300 used on the Challenger 300) which were both more fuel-efficient, not to mention being more powerful!
Beyond that, Bombardier engineers would also make several hot-section modifications, as well as installing a full authority digital engine control (FADEC) system, which helps give the HTF7350s an even bigger kick.
For aerodynamic (and thus fuel saving) reasons, Bombardier engineers would redesign much of the Challenger’s wing, including reduce its sweep, strengthening it, and using superior winglets, all of which reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency.
To help pilots (as well as increase fuel efficiency) bombardier would also have a brand new, all-glass cockpit installed on the Challenger 350.
All of this was done in the hopes of making people choose the Challenger 350 over its competitors like the Legacy 500 and G280.
Having been developed in complete secrecy, Bombardier would also choose to make the first flight of the new Challenger 350, on March 2 2013, also in complete secrecy. Following this, it would be unveiled two months later, at the 2013 EBACE.
Operational History
Following this, the Bombardier Challenger 350 would undergo flight testing with most of the world’s major aviation regulators, before entering service with launch customer, NetJets, in late 2014. From here, it has had a rather interesting service life!
Private Jet
Soon after being delivered to NetJets, Bombardier would begin to deliver several Challenger 350s to private customers too.
Here, the versatility of the jet – its low operating cost per seat, its ability to takeoff and land on short runways and its relatively long range – appealed to almost every type of private flyer.
For many celebrities, such as the legendary David Beckham, the luxury of the Challenger has allowed them to get the same/better service than they’d get flying first class, all without causing a riot from (over)eager fans!
Beyond this, flying the Challenger also allows them to avoid the paparazzi, both at the airport they’re flying from and the airport they’re flying to.
Many wealthy individuals have also purchased the Challenger, among them being Microsoft co-founder (and former richest man in the world), Bill Gates, who owns two through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Another wealthy flyer is New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, who owns a fraction of a Challenger through the aforementioned NetJets.
In private service, the Challenger can fly a mixture of routes, including transcontinental and transatlantic flights, which is why it has been so popular with many private flyers to date!
Chances are that are many more famous people who own the Challenger 350 – the difficulty isn’t find the jet, but rather the owner – after all, many private flyers want to avoid the paparazzi, so their jets are held anonymously.
Corporate Jet
Yet, discreet private operators weren’t the only ones the Challenger 350 attracted. Indeed, it also attracted many wealthy businessmen and corporations too.
Much like their private counterparts, the Challenger’s corporate owners are similarly quite secretive.
Whilst for celebrities, it’s to protect them from the paparazzi, corporations do it to protect themselves from the ire of the public, many of whom have unfavorable views on private jets for many different reasons.
In corporate service, the Challenger was usually the only jet used by the company, with the jet itself usually being used to transport the company’s C-Suite executives and owner between two places for business reasons.
Here, the Challenger’s (relatively) low operating costs make it perfect for operating on both short and long-haul routes. You see, it can transport nine passengers at only a slightly higher cost per seat than something like the Cessna Citation Mustang can.
By the same token, the Challenger’s long range allows it to operate on high demand, long-haul routes that businesses often fly on, eg. London to New York and/or New York to San Francisco.
These two facts combined make the Challenger quite popular with large businesses that fly a mixture of short and long-haul routes with up to nine passengers!
On rare occasion, the Challenger is paired alongside a smaller private jet, usually something like the aforementioned Citation Mustang, or something like the Phenom 300.
Here, the Citation Mustang/Phenom 300 manages all of the short-haul flights, whilst the Challenger 350 does all the long-haul ones.
Fractional Ownership
As I alluded earlier, fractional ownership company, NetJets (owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway), were the launch customer of the Bombardier Challenger 350 back in 2014.
Seeing the Challenger on display at the 2013 EBACE, the company would place an order for 75 Challengers. Here, 69 were intended to be used by NetJets in the US, whilst seven were to be used by the company’s European subsidiary, NetJets Europe.
With their first jet delivered in late 2014, NetJets would begin selling fractions of the jet to high net worth individuals (such as the aforementioned Robert Kraft) selling fractions of them in exchange for a certain number of hours per year.
Currently, these fractions vary from 1/5 to 1/8, whilst prices vary from $5.18 to $3.24 million accordingly.
As the Bombardier Challenger 350 has proven to be quite popular with NetJets, the company has placed subsequent orders which are still being fulfilled.
Having seen its main competitor acquire the Challenger, fractional ownership company, Flexjet, would acquire seven Challenger 350s, similarly selling stakes in the jet in exchange for a certain number of hours in the jet.
Currently, Flexjet sells similar sized fractions in their Challengers as NetJets do, with their prices being similar…
However, NetJets and Flexjet don’t work for free. In exchange for providing trained pilots, organizing the flights and maintaining the jet, they do charge a monthly fee, which will set you back around $25,000 per month!
Charter
Yet it wasn’t just fractional ownership companies that chose to capitalize on the Challenger’s popularity with private and corporate operators. So did private jet charter companies!
Whilst fractional ownership companies like NetJets and Flexjet would place the largest orders for the jet, they’d be closely followed by air charter companies like XOJET and VistaJet.
Receiving their jets from the beginning of 2015 onwards, these executive air charter companies would begin chartering them out to high net worth individuals or corporations looking to fly private without owning a jet themselves.
For the most part, these executive air charter companies market the Bombardier Challenger 350 as the low-cost alternative to the Cessna Citation XL or the Learjet 40.
You seen, sometimes, their range isn’t enough, but you still want to save a little money by not chartering something a little larger like a Gulfstream. At least according to these air charter companies, the Challenger is the jet for you!
Although the cost will depend on several factors (eg. the charter company you fly with, route, time of year etc.) you can expect to pay around $5,250 per hour to charter the Bombardier Challenger 350.
Features
In terms of size, the Challenger is pretty standard for its class, not being overly large or small. Despite this however, the Challenger’s cabin is actually one of the largest in its class, being 15% larger than the average jet in its class.
Owing in large part to the Challenger’s larger cabin, the Challenger can actually carry more people than the average jet of its class, being able to transport nine passengers (plus two crew) compared to the class average of eight (plus two crew).
However, to get a larger cabin, the Challenger has had to sacrifice baggage space. Whilst still plenty big enough for your needs, you will need to know this if you aren’t exactly a light packer…
When it was released, the Bombardier Challenger 350 had one of the longest ranges of any jet in its class. Even as newer jets with longer ranges have been introduced, the Challenger’s range is still one of the largest in its class!
Unlike many private jets that sacrifice range for speed (or vice-versa), the Challenger has not. Whilst newer jets are faster, the Challenger is still one of the fastest private jets currently on the market.
In terms of runway length needed for landing and takeoff, the Challenger requires one of the shortest runways in its class, and indeed, one of the shortest runways of any non-(very) light jet!
Price
When the Challenger 350 was first introduced in 2014, it had a price tag of $25.9 million. Today, however, the price tag for a brand new Challenger 350 is more along the lines of $26.7 million.
Although $26.7 million is not chump change by any means, this actually places the Challenger in the middle of the market. It not as cheap as something like the Phenom 100 ($4.25 million), nor is it as expensive as the Gulfstream G700 ($75 million).
However, as the jet has been on the market for several years now, there are several currently listed on the secondary market at a considerable discount.
For older Challengers – those built between 2013 and 2015 – prices range between $13 and $15 million on average (although those jets in pristine condition or with low hours/landings will be slightly more).
On the other hand, newer Challengers – those built since 2015 – prices range from $16 million to as much as $21 million depending on the condition, age and number of hours/landings.
In terms of cost to operate, the Bombardier Challenger 350 is similarly quite middle-of-the-market. Assuming you were to fly the Challenger for 450 hours per year, it would cost you roughly $3,060 per hour to operate the jet.
Specifications
| Specifications | Bombardier Challenger 350 |
|---|---|
| Length | 68 ft 8 in (20.92 m) |
| Wingspan | 69 ft (21 m) |
| Height | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
| Crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 9 |
| Cruise Speed | 0.80 Mach (850 km/h; 528 mph; 459 kn) |
| Range | 5,926 km (3,682 mi; 3,200 nmi) |
| Service Ceiling | 45,000 ft (13,716 m) |
| MTOW | 40,600 lb (18,416 kg) |
How Safe is The Bombardier Challenger 350?
When we think of the safest and/or most dangerous aircraft currently in our skies, our minds immediately turn to commercial aircraft like the A320 and 747, whilst neglecting private jets like the Challenger 350.
And this is for good reason. After all, most people who fly, do so commercially. Plus, when a commercial jet crashes, it has hundreds of passengers on it and dominates the news cycle.
However, when a private jet crashes, it usually goes unnoticed – it’s only noticed if it kills someone rich and/or famous. Not surprisingly, commercial jets are more familiar to the general flying public.
Yet, for those looking to fly on the Bombardier Challenger 350, you’re probably wondering how safe/dangerous the jet is…
Amazingly, despite nearly a decade in the air, and over 350 Challenger 350s in the air, the jet has never recorded a single incident! This means that, at least in terms of safety, the Challenger is one of the safest private jets out there!
For the most part, this was done because Bombardier studied the crashes of the Challenger 300 (which was still quite a safe aircraft).
Using what they knew, they eliminated those minor flaws from the Challenger 350, making it impossible for Challenger 350 pilots to make the same errors that (some) pilots of the Challenger 300 had.
A word of warning however, just because the Challenger has never had a crash before, doesn’t mean that it won’t in the future. Whilst it’s highly unlikely, don’t fly on the Challenger solely due to its safety record.
Just remember Murphy’s law – whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.
What’s it Like to Fly on The Bombardier Challenger 350?
Over the course of writing this article, I was fortunate enough to fly on several Challenger 350s of differing ages too, which means I have a fairly good idea of what the jet’s like. And I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my flights on the Challenger!
For added perspective, I also covered our article on the Challenger 300, where I similarly flew on it several times, giving me a good perspective of both jets…
Having flown on both jets, I’ll admit that I prefer the Challenger 350 over the Challenger 300, but then again, that was Bombardier’s intention when they unveiled it to the world in 2013.
Flying on the Challenger 350, I noticed many of the features I liked on the Challenger 300, such as state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system, the sleek interior design and the versatility.
Yet I also noticed that many of the things I didn’t like about the Challenger 300, namely the narrow walkway, had been eliminated. In this case, instead of the seats seeming to bag over the walkway, they went seamlessly towards the ground.
Whilst it was probably only a few inches/centimeters difference, it eliminated the problem I previously had!
However, I only had one issue with the jet as a whole.
It may have been due to the pilots or other factors, but I found on takeoff (and partly throughout the flight) that the Challenger had a bit of a lag to it – almost as if it was being pushed from the front – which I found quite uncomfortable for some reason.
What do you think of the Bombardier Challenger 350? Have you ever flown on it? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Victor via Flickr.
Well written article concerning a beautiful, popular and super expensive machine (unless you bought the Global 7500.)