Bombardier Challenger 350

Where it came from

Bombardier launched the programme at the 1999 Paris Air Show under the name Continental, aimed at the gap between the Learjet 60 and the Challenger 604: a clean-sheet aircraft with transcontinental range and a cabin wider than anything in the midsize class. It first flew on 14 August 2001 as the Challenger 300, was certified by Transport Canada on 31 May 2003 and by the FAA on 4 June 2003, and entered service with Flexjet on 8 January 2004.

The Challenger 350 followed a decade on. It flew on 2 March 2013, was announced at EBACE that May, and was certified by Transport Canada in June 2014, by the FAA on 25 June 2014 and by EASA on 2 September 2014. The changes were to the wing and the engines rather than the fuselage: canted winglets on a strengthened wing, uprated Honeywell HTF7350 engines and an updated flight deck. Steep-approach approval for London City arrived in 2018.

Deliveries settled the argument. Around 350 Challenger 350s had been handed over by mid-2020, on top of roughly 450 Challenger 300s, and the 350 was the most-delivered super-midsize jet for seven consecutive years before the line passed to the Challenger 3500 in 2022. It is why a European charter search returns more 350s than anything else in the class.

Who charters a Challenger 350

The typical booking is six to nine people who need to arrive together and work on the way — a board flying to a closing, a family moving between two houses, a sports or music party with equipment.

Inside the class the decision usually comes down to two rivals. The Citation Sovereign is cheaper by the hour, but its cabin is 1.68 m wide and 1.73 m high, and that height exists only in a dropped centre aisle: most adults cannot stand up in it. The Legacy 500 has the longer cabin — 8.38 m against 7.68 m — but it is 2.08 m wide and seats eight. The Challenger trades cabin length for width and payload, which is the trade most groups actually want. Above it, the Praetor 600 buys range and the heavy Challenger 605 buys a 2.49 m cabin, both at a higher hourly rate.

Range with a full cabin, and the Atlantic

The published 5,900 km is a four-passenger figure, flown to NBAA IFR reserves in still air. The gap between that and real life is narrower on this type than on its neighbours: with full fuel the Challenger 350 still carries 1,907 lb of payload, roughly nine adults with light bags. Full seats and full tanks are close to compatible here, which is rare in the class. With eight or nine aboard and real luggage, expect to give up 300 to 500 km — plan on 5,450 to 5,600 km and a sector of about six and a half hours.

Across the Atlantic, direction decides everything. Eastbound, New York or Teterboro to Shannon, London or Paris is routine, especially in winter with the jetstream behind you. Westbound normally needs a fuel stop at Shannon, Keflavik or Gander; nonstop happens only on light days.

The cabin, the bags and the lavatory

Nine seats in two zones, a flat floor, 1.83 m of stand-up height and 2.19 m of width — the widest cabin in the class, and the reason a nine-seat load does not feel like nine seats. The aft lavatory is full size, behind a solid door and serviced from outside, so it stays usable to the end of a six-hour sector; an optional belted seat in there is what makes the tenth place on some tails.

Baggage is 3.0 m³, heated, pressurised and reachable in flight — something the Citation Sovereign cannot offer, since most of its hold is sealed off once the door closes. On a ski or golf trip that matters more than it sounds. Wi-Fi is the one thing not to assume: Ka-band and Gogo AVANCE installations are common on charter tails but not universal, so we confirm connectivity on the aircraft, not on the model.

Where it flies, and the airports it can use

From London the Challenger 350 reaches Geneva in about 1h 25m, Nice in 1h 40m, Milan in 1h 50m, Ibiza in 2h 30m and Larnaca in 4h 30m — all with the cabin full and no fuel stop. London to Dubai is the honest edge case: 5,500 km against a realistic full-cabin 5,450 to 5,600 km, and a block time near seven hours. Light, it goes nonstop; with nine aboard, full bags and a headwind home, plan a fuel stop or take a longer-range type.

Field length is 1,474 m at maximum take-off weight and 721 m to land. The type is steep-approach certified for London City, though the approval is a retrofit, so we check the individual tail. Cannes-Mandelieu, at 1,610 m, is fine at normal weights but needs fuel planning on a hot day; Samedan is operable with seasonal restrictions and a mandatory crew briefing; Sion and Ibiza are no problem.

What moves the price

From around €5,900 per flight hour is the starting point; the exact quote turns on four things.

Positioning: the aircraft is rarely parked where you are, and the empty legs flown to collect you and return to base are part of the price — a departure from a city with resident Challengers costs less than the same flight from a quiet field. Crew duty: a same-day return to Larnaca can push a two-pilot crew past its legal limit, so the answer is a night stop or a second crew, and both cost money. Season and slots: Nice in July, Geneva in ski season, Cannes during the festival — slots, parking and handling all move together. And cabin crew: at this size a flight attendant is an option rather than a standard fit, so a hot meal service needs asking for at the quoting stage.