Challenger 300: how it differs from its rivals and from the 350
The Challenger 300 created the super-midsize class in the form it is known in today. Everything that followed, its own successor included, started from this aircraft.
What it gave the market
A cabin 1.85 metres high on a two-pilot crew. Before it, standing up in the cabin meant moving into the heavy class, where the crew and the costs are of a different order. The Challenger 300 moved that boundary down.
Range of 3 100 nautical miles. It covers long domestic routes and short international ones without a technical stop.
Speed up to M 0.83. The upper mark for the class.
The combination proved successful enough that the model held a leading place in deliveries for years, and its successor the Challenger 350 continued the same line.
How it differs from the Challenger 350
The difference between the models is built into the structure; a 300 cannot be brought up to 350 standard.
| What differs | Challenger 300 | Challenger 350 |
|---|---|---|
| Engines | Honeywell HTF7000 | HTF7350, 7.3% more thrust |
| Winglets | conventional | canted, 17% less drag |
| Payload | baseline | plus 410 kg |
| Range | 3 100 nautical miles | 3 200 |
| Windows | baseline | 20% larger |
| Cabin | 2.19 × 1.85 m | the same |
The cabin is identical on both. What the premium for the 350 buys is thrust-to-weight, payload and a hundred miles of range.
The practical conclusion: if you do not work at the limit of the load and do not fly legs right up against maximum range, the Challenger 300 gives you the same cabin and the same speed for less money. From what I see, the market median on the 300 is around $10.5 million against $18 million for the 350.
Where the Challenger 300 gives ground
Payload at the limit. Those same 410 kg that arrived with the 350. If your typical flight is a full cabin with baggage to maximum range, the difference will show.
No berth. A boundary of the class; the 350 has none either.
Fleet age. The model was built up to the arrival of the 350 in 2014, so the aircraft are older. The type is common and well supported, but it needs checking attentively.
Engines without a programme. Part of the fleet on the market runs without active coverage. The saving at purchase turns into an unpredictable large outlay at the next overhaul.
Who it suits
The mission profile behind this aircraft is a simple one: eight or nine people, a regular corporate schedule, legs of up to five and a half thousand kilometres. Long domestic routes and short international ones go in a single hop, and the cabin height lets you stand and walk about when there is work to do en route.
Average days on market is 165. Which means there is no need to rush the decision: the choice is there and sellers are disposed to negotiate.
In seven years in business aviation I have run deals on Bombardier Global and Embraer Legacy. The purchase price covers only part of the bill: across the market, keeping an aircraft costs 10–20% of its value a year — crew, pilot training, the operator, parking, fuel. The deal itself on the secondary market takes about two months. I talk clients out of unjustified purchases as a matter of principle.
Full specifications and photos are on the model page.
Conclusion
The Challenger 300 remains a sound purchase precisely because of its successor: the arrival of the 350 pushed prices on the 300 down, while the cabin, the speed and the range stayed practically the same.
The main question in the choice is the condition of the particular aircraft: life remaining, the status of the engine programmes, the avionics fit and what the logbooks say.
Alexander Filimonov — business aviation: sourcing, acquisition and entry into service of aircraft.
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