Bombardier this week said it delivered its 200th Challenger 3500 less than four years after the model entered service, making it one of the most popular business jets to hit the market in recent years.
The manufacturer in a news release Monday said it made the 200th delivery to Piero Ferrari, vice president of the Italian automaker that shares his surname. Bombardier said the Ferrari executive will use the jet for travel to Formula One races and other business engagements.
The Challenger 3500 has outdelivered every business jet model in the medium and heavy categories since 2023, its first full year of deliveries, according to Bombardier. It was unveiled in 2021 and entered service in ’22 with Les Goldberg, the chairman and CEO of Entertainment Technology Partners. At the time, the Challenger line had been the best-selling super mid-size platform for the past seven years.
Per Bombardier, in 2024, the Challenger 3500 became the fastest-growing platform to reach 100 deliveries in the super-midsize category.
The model entered service with an initial list price of $26.7 million and builds on the popular Challenger 300 series, incorporating elements of Bombardier’s Global aircraft family. Those include a standard-equipped auto-throttle system on the flight deck and other “baseline features.”
Other amenities in the cockpit include:
- Available head-up display (HUD) with enhanced vision system (EVS)
- Advanced avionics suite with four large displays
- Dual flight management system with LPV and RNP approach capabilities
- Synthetic vision system (SVS)
- MultiScan weather radar
- Dual inertial reference system (IRS)
- Dual SBAS/WAAS GPS
Powered by Honeywell HTF7350 turbofans, the Challenger 3500 has a maximum range of 3,400 nm and top speed of Mach 0.83, typically cruising at Mach 0.80 and about 43,000 feet. Bombardier said it offers the lowest direct operating costs in its class.
The jet’s cabin seats up to 10 passengers and adopts the Global family’s Nuage seats. It has a cabin altitude of 4,850 feet when flying at 41,000 feet. The 3500 also features the first voice-controlled cabin for temperature, lighting, and entertainment, as well as 24-inch 4K displays, wireless charging, and quick air replacement.
Like Bombardier’s other aircraft, it carries a published Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).
Bombardier’s largest firm order for the Challenger 3500 came from VistaJet and XO parent Vista Global Holding Limited in February. Vista ordered 40 aircraft valued at $1.18 billion with 120 options, representing a total value of $4.72 billion if the options are exercised.
Its largest total order came from NetJets, which in December 2023 placed a firm order for 12 jets valued at $326 million at the time of signing. Bombardier kept the customer secret at the time but in 2024 revealed it was NetJets, adding that the agreement includes 232 options. If exercised, they would bring the deal’s total value north of $6 billion.
Other recent Challenger 3500 orders come from Bond and Saudi Arabia’s The Helicopter Company, which during last week’s Farnborough International Airshow signed an agreement for up to 60 Bombardier jets, including five firm Challenger 3500 orders.