NEWTOWN, Conn. - Bombardier launched the new Challenger 350 model at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 20.
The new model upgrades the existing Challenger 300 with twin Honeywell HTF7350 engines, each producing 7,323 pounds (32.57 kN) of thrust, and new canted winglets. The modifications will improve climb performance, reduce emissions, and will extend the maximum range of the aircraft with eight passengers aboard to 3,200 nautical miles (5,926 km).
Bombardier says that the interior will feature larger windows than the Challenger 300 and a new cabin management system made by Lufthansa Technik. Bombardier is sticking with the 300's Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics system, but the 350's version will include synthetic vision, dual inertial reference systems, a completely paperless cockpit and multiscan weather radar.
Deliveries of the new model are scheduled to begin in 2014. The manufacturer says that it will continue to produce the Challenger 300 alongside the 350, but the list price of the 350 is approximately $26 million, only about 5% more than the list price of the Challenger 300. Such a small price gap will push customers to the new model, making it very likely that the Challenger 350 will fully replace its sibling in the near term.
