Ownership Cost
Bombardier Challenger 3500 Ownership & Operating Costs
What the Bombardier Challenger 3500 costs to buy, charter and run: about $29.5 million new, its specs (3,400 nm, 10 passengers) and how it differs from the Challenger 350.
BenedictPrivate Aviation ConsultantUpdated October 11, 2026 · Published October 11, 2026 · 2 min readAt a glance
- fuel and FET included
- CRAFT Fleet Jet Card
- $12,950/hr
- Passengers
- Up to 10
- Range
- 3,400 nm
Estimates in USD. Operating costs vary with fuel price, region and mission.
The Bombardier Challenger 3500 is the current version of Bombardier's super-midsize Challenger. It replaced the Challenger 350 and entered service in 2022, and carries up to 10 passengers 3,400 nautical miles, with a top speed of Mach 0.83 and high-speed cruise at Mach 0.82.
Two Honeywell HTF7350 engines give it 7,323 lb of thrust each, the same engines as the Challenger 350. It cruises at up to 45,000 feet, keeps a cabin altitude of 4,850 feet, and needs 4,835 feet of runway at maximum takeoff weight and 2,364 feet to land.
Bombardier valued a February 2026 order for 40 Challenger 3500s at US$1.18 billion at list prices, about $29.5 million an aircraft. In terms of hourly cost, chartering a super-midsize jet like the Bombardier Challenger 3500 costs about $12,000 to $13,000 a flight hour on published hourly rates for the class; CRAFT's own Fleet Jet Card is $12,950 an hour on the 25-hour card, fuel and FET included.
Bombardier Challenger 3500 Specifications
| Bombardier Challenger 3500 | |
|---|---|
| Passengers | Up to 10 |
| Maximum range | 3,400 nm |
| Top speed | Mach 0.83 |
| High-speed cruise | Mach 0.82 |
| Maximum altitude | 45,000 ft |
| Cabin altitude | 4,850 ft |
| Engines | 2 x Honeywell HTF7350, 7,323 lb thrust each |
| Cabin length (excluding baggage) | 25 ft 2 in |
| Cabin height / width | 6 ft 0 in / 7 ft 2 in |
| Takeoff distance (MTOW) | 4,835 ft |
| Landing distance | 2,364 ft |
Sources: Bombardier, Challenger 3500 specifications. Range is Bombardier's theoretical figure with four passengers, two crew and NBAA IFR reserves at Mach 0.77; entry into service from Bombardier's announcement; list price from Bombardier's Vista order announcement.
Bombardier Challenger 3500 Cost Overview
The cost of owning a Challenger 3500 falls into two parts. Fixed costs are paid whether the jet flies or not: crew salaries and training, the hangar, insurance, management and other overheads. Variable costs scale with every flight hour: fuel, maintenance, engine overhaul reserves, and landing, handling and crew travel fees.
We don't publish a cost estimate for the Bombardier Challenger 3500 yet. No fuel burn we can cite: the manufacturer publishes no average and Conklin & de Decker's published averages don't list it. For a guide, the median super-midsize jet in our model costs about $749,735 a year in fixed costs and $5,238 a flight hour, or $1,816,760 a year flown 200 hours. Compare every model we estimate.
Until one is published, the Challenger 350, the same engines and a similar airframe, is the closest guide to what it costs to run.
Challenger 3500 vs Challenger 350 and 300
- Challenger 350: the jet the 3500 replaced, delivered from 2014. Same engines, 3,200 nautical miles, and bought pre-owned. See the Challenger 350 vs Challenger 3500 comparison.
- Challenger 300: the original, delivered from 2003 to 2014, with HTF7000 engines. See the Challenger 300 vs Challenger 350 comparison.
CRAFT flies Challenger 300s and 350s for charter and on the Fleet Jet Card.
How we estimate these costs
Every figure on our ownership-cost pages comes from one model, built the same way for each aircraft from public inputs: crew pay from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, fuel burn from the manufacturer or Conklin & de Decker, one Jet A price from our jet fuel price data, and stated estimates by size class for hangar, insurance, training, management and maintenance.
Why there is no estimate for the Bombardier Challenger 3500 yet: No fuel burn we can cite: the manufacturer publishes no average and Conklin & de Decker's published averages don't list it. We would rather leave it out than fill the gap with a guess or another company's figures.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Bombardier Challenger 3500 cost?
About $29.5 million new at 2026 list prices: Bombardier valued a February 2026 order for 40 Challenger 3500s at US$1.18 billion at list.
How far can the Bombardier Challenger 3500 fly?
Bombardier gives the Challenger 3500 a maximum range of 3,400 nautical miles, with four passengers, two crew and NBAA IFR reserves at Mach 0.77.
What is the difference between the Challenger 3500 and the Challenger 350?
The Challenger 3500 replaced the Challenger 350 in Bombardier's line-up and entered service in 2022. It keeps the same Honeywell HTF7350 engines and flies 3,400 nautical miles against the 350's 3,200, with a lower cabin altitude (4,850 ft) and a redesigned cabin.
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