BOMBARDIER
CHALLENGER 850

Regarding the exterior, the Challenger 850 shadows the same silhouette as the 50 seat Bombardier CRJ 200, only once inside can you see the plush 14 seat interior, mirroring the same layout as a Global 5000 which is a three living zone flat floor cabin, normally with a rear enclosed stateroom.

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Similar in some respects to the Embraer Legacy, starting life out as a commuter airliner, having then been retrofitted into a VIP configuration, this at least in theory has the advantages of reduced design and manufacturing costs, compared to something like a Falcon 900.

Although the trade off of initially being designed as a commuter jet is the limited range this aircraft can reach. Having said that, considering the majority of European city locations, it does raise the question do you need to use an aircraft with substantial range if many requested trips are no more than 3 to 4 hours flight time, only to experience the same, if not more, cabin space in the Challenger 850? We think this is very much the appeal of this model (similarly with the Legacy 650), knowing its core market is for the medium and shorter sectors, and therefore plays well against its longer range family of Global aircraft. In fact to the unknowing eye, once onboard, aside from the different wing, smaller landing gear and forward hatch above the cockpit, it can be difficult to distinguish between them.