Company Marks A Milestone
Bombardier Aerospace recently celebrated the
delivery of its 600th Bombardier Challenger® widebody business
jet – an aircraft that has set the standard for comfort,
productivity and value in business travel for more than two
decades.
Aircraft #5557 recently rolled off Bombardier’s Challenger
assembly line in Montreal and is now at Bombardier’s
completion center in Tucson where it will be furnished with a
customized interior. Scheduled to enter service this summer, the
milestone aircraft will be utilized primarily for regional and
intercontinental executive travel by an international corporation
based in North America.
“This is a significant achievement for corporate aviation,
for the Bombardier Challenger program and for our employees,”
stated Peter Edwards, president, Bombardier Business Aircraft.
“Suffice to say, this milestone is the result of many years
of work by many people.
“A powerful combination of constant inputs, interest and
involvement from our loyal customers – combined with our
efforts to continually improve both the aircraft and our various
customer support services – has resulted in a very, very fine
aircraft.
Bombardier The World Over
Popular among corporations, governments, private
individuals and air charter companies alike, variants of Bombardier
Challenger aircraft have been sold to civil operators in more than
50 countries. The aircraft is also in government service with many
countries, including, among others, Australia, Canada, China,
Denmark, Germany, Korea, Malaysia, Jordan and the FAA of the
United-States.
As of Dec. 31, 2002, the fleet had accumulated more than 2.3
million flight hours while posting a dispatch reliability exceeding
99.7 percent.
The current production model, the Challenger 604, has been the
best-selling large business jet since 1996. Powered by proven
General Electric CF34-3B1 high by-pass turbofan engines, the
Bombardier Challenger 604 can fly up to 4,077 nautical miles (7,551
km) and has a maximum cruise speed of Mach .82 (541 mph; 870 km/h).
It features the widest cabin of any true business jet available
today – eight feet, two inches wide (2.49 m) with a
comfortable stand-up room of six feet, one inch (1.85 m).
Bombardier Aerospace recently expanded the Challenger family
with the addition of the super-midsize Bombardier Challenger
300® business jet (formerly the Continental®) and the
Bombardier Challenger 800 (formerly the Challenger SE®). Now
approaching the end of a successful flight test program, the
eight-passenger Bombardier Challenger 300 is designed to deliver
best-of-class value in the super-midsize business jet category.