Strong market demand drives Flexjet to increase Challenger 350 bizjet order

RICHARDSON, Texas, 24 Nov. 2015. Flexjet LLC has exercised options for 20 additional Challenger 350 business jets from Bombardier Aerospace (BBD.B:CA), bringing to 40 the number of firm orders Flexjet has placed for the super-midsized aircraft.

Flexjet began taking deliveries of the specially outfitted Flexjet LXi version of the Challenger 350 in January 2015, part of an order placed with Bombardier in 2013 for Challenger and Learjet products.

The Challenger 350 is the successor to Bombardier’s venerable Challenger 300, which has served as the backbone of the Flexjet fleet since the company’s founding 20 years ago. Bombardier engineers relied heavily on Flexjet’s Challenger 300 operating data and user experience information to design many of the advances and enhancements on the Challenger 350.

The Challenger 350 is part of Flexjet’s premier Red Label, which features access to the world’s newest fractional jet fleet, flight crews dedicated to a single aircraft, and exclusive artisan interiors that are the finest and most distinctive ever offered to travelers by a fractional provider.

A mission-versatile business jet, the Challenger 350 can carry up to eight passengers in Flexjet’s smart interior configuration, as well as has a maximum operating altitude of 45,000 feet, a top cruising speed of 528 MPH, and a transcontinental range of 3,200 nautical miles. Its extraordinarily quiet cabin allows passengers to converse at comfortable levels or relax in peace.

“We are proud of the positive response to our Challenger 350 offering, our best-seller this year. This has led us to order 20 more of this highly popular aircraft,” Silvestro adds. “Our pride is rooted in the affirmation that we are providing our Owners with an aircraft solution that they enjoy, provides unprecedented comfort and most effectively gets them to the places they desire to go.”

Flexjet’s original 2013 order with Bombardier was for 20 firm deliveries of the Challenger 350 with options to purchase an additional 40. With today’s agreement, Flexjet has committed to taking delivery of 40 Challenger 350 aircraft.

Flexjet LLC first entered the fractional jet ownership market in 1995, and celebrated its 20th anniversary in May 2015. Flexjet offers fractional jet ownership and leasing. Flexjet’s fractional program fields an exclusive array of business aircraft—some of the youngest in the fractional jet industry, with an average age of approximately six years—including their LXi Cabin Collection consisting of the Learjet 75, Challenger 350, the Embraer Legacy 450, Global Express, and the Gulfstream G450, G500, and G650 business jets. In addition, the overall jet collection includes the Embraer Phenom 300, Challenger 300 and Challenger 605. Flexjet is a member of the Directional Aviation family of companies.