Challenger 604

About the Challenger 604

The Challenger 604 is the model that made the Challenger line the most-delivered large business jet platform in history. Built from 1995 to 2006 on the wide CL-600-2B16 fuselage with GE CF34-3B engines, it carries up to 12 passengers 4,027 nm at Mach 0.85 in a cabin as wide as anything in its class. It is the direct ancestor of the 605 and 650 and shares their cabin cross-section exactly.

Who charters it

The value play in the heavy-jet class. A 604 delivers the same 7 ft 11 in cabin width and 4,000 nm-class range as a Challenger 650 at roughly two thirds the hourly rate, which makes it the honest answer when a client wants a stand-up transcontinental cabin without heavy-jet pricing. Trade-offs worth stating plainly: it needs about 5,840 ft of runway at max weight, so mountain-west and short-field departures need a performance check rather than an assumption, and the cabin is older, so Wi-Fi and power outlets vary tail to tail and must be confirmed before it is offered as a working cabin. Charter hourly figures shown here are non-binding estimate ranges, not quotes.

Same 64.3 ft wingspan and CL-600-2B16 airframe as the Challenger 650, which is comfortably inside Aspen's limit, so the 604 sits in the same bracket. Two differences worth stating before quoting. Its takeoff field length is about 5,840 ft against the 650's 5,640, still well inside Aspen's 8,006 ft but with less margin on a hot afternoon at 7,820 ft elevation. And steep-approach capability on the 604 is not universal across the fleet the way it is on later Challengers, so confirm it per tail rather than per type before offering ASE. Telluride is not realistic for this class. EGE is routine.

Planning guidance only. The operator, the AFM performance data, and conditions on the day are the final authority.