Challenger 604 Charter from Chicago
A Challenger 604 charter is the least expensive way out of Chicago to get a genuinely wide heavy-jet cabin. Bombardier built the 604 and its 605 successor on a fuselage that is 98 inches across the floor — ten inches wider than a Gulfstream G450 and level with a G650ER — so ten or eleven people can sit in a double club without anyone straddling the aisle.
It is not the fastest heavy jet and it does not have the longest legs. What it has is a deep North American fleet, a lot of Midwest and East Coast Part 135 operators competing for the same trip, and a floor price of $9,500 per flight hour that sits at the very bottom of the heavy-jet band.
Where a Challenger 604 charter makes sense
The type earns its keep on two kinds of trip. The first is a full-cabin domestic leg — a board, a deal team, a family of nine — where the passenger count rules out a super midsize and the 4,000 nm book range is more than anyone needs. On a Chicago to Los Angeles or Chicago to Miami leg you are paying for width and baggage, not for reach.
The second is the one-stop international trip. With 4,000 nm the 604 reaches London eastbound on a normal winter day, reaches most of northern South America, and reaches anywhere in Mexico or the Caribbean with fuel to spare. What it will not do consistently is the return leg against the jet stream, which is where the trip planning conversation actually happens.
Baggage is the quiet reason people book it. 115 cu ft in a hold you can walk into in flight means eleven people with ski bags, or a film crew with cases, without the Tetris exercise you get in a super midsize. If your load is unusually bulky, compare the numbers on the heavy jet class page before you assume you need to move up.
Challenger 604/605 specifications
Published figures below are for the typical charter configuration. The 605 is the same airframe with a modernised flight deck, larger cabin windows and a revised electrical system; operators and brokers quote the two interchangeably and the performance numbers are effectively identical.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Bombardier |
| Class | Heavy Jet Charter |
| Typical passengers | 11 — 10–12 in a double club plus three-place divan |
| Range, 4 passengers, IFR reserves | 4,000 nm |
| Normal cruise speed | 470 kts (Mach 0.80) |
| Certified ceiling | 41,000 ft |
| Cabin height | 73 in — stand-up cabin |
| Cabin width | 98 in |
| Cabin length | 28.3 ft |
| Baggage volume | 115 cu ft |
| Lavatory | Enclosed, externally serviced |
| Cabin connectivity | Ku or Ka-band on most charter airframes |
| First delivery of this variant | 1996 |
| Typical market hourly rate | $9,500–$11,500 per flight hour |
Cabin, sleeping and crew rest
Layout
Almost every charter 604 you will be offered is a forward four-place club, an aft four-place club, and a three-place divan on the left side at the back, with a forward galley and an enclosed, externally serviced lavatory aft. Cabin height is 73 inches, so a six-foot passenger stands with a slight stoop rather than fully upright, and the flat floor runs the full 28.3 ft.
The width is what people notice. At 98 inches you can pass a seated passenger without turning sideways, and two people can work at the same table without elbows. That matters more on a seven-hour leg than any other single cabin dimension.
Sleeping configuration
The 604 sleeps three comfortably and four at a push: the three-place divan makes one full-length bed, and the two facing club pairs berth into two more flat-ish surfaces once the crew fits the sleep kit. There is no separate stateroom and no door — this is an open cabin, so one person sleeping means the rest of the cabin runs on low light.
For an overnight transatlantic, ask the operator whether the aircraft carries proper berthing mattresses and bedding or just blankets. Fleet practice varies more than the spec sheet suggests, and it is the single most common source of disappointment on a first heavy-jet booking.
Crew rest
There is no dedicated crew rest compartment. On a long international leg the relief pilot, if one is carried, rests in the forward club or on the divan, which means you lose seats. Plan on nine or ten usable passenger seats rather than 11 the moment you add a third crew member to an ocean crossing.
Hourly rate and typical trip cost
The typical market range is $9,500–$11,500 per flight hour for Chicago-based lift. Where a specific tail lands inside that band depends on age, interior condition, connectivity fit and whether the operator is repositioning it anyway. Full context on how heavy-jet pricing is built sits on the hourly rates page and the charter cost guide.
| Trip | Approximate flight hours | Typical market range |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago to Teterboro, one way | 1.8 | $17,000–$20,500 |
| Chicago to Los Angeles, one way | 4.3 | $41,000–$49,500 |
| Chicago to London, one way eastbound | 7.5 | $71,500–$86,500 |
| Chicago to Honolulu with a west coast fuel stop | 9.5 | $90,500–$109,500 |
Missions from Chicago: what the 604 does non-stop
Be blunt about the transatlantic question, because operators sometimes are not. Chicago to London is roughly 3,430 nm great circle. With 4,000 nm of book range the eastbound leg is a normal day's work, usually 7 to 8 hours with the jet stream behind you. The westbound return is 3,430 nm into the same jet stream, and in winter the 604 routinely plans a technical stop at Gander, Goose Bay or Keflavik. That is not a failure of the aircraft; it is arithmetic.
Chicago to Paris is about 3,720 nm and is a tighter proposition even eastbound — expect a payload restriction or a fuel stop on a bad wind day. Chicago to Honolulu is around 3,600 nm and is flown westbound into the prevailing flow, so plan a stop in northern California; the eastbound return is often non-stop. Chicago to Tokyo at roughly 5,450 nm is a two-leg trip in this type, normally with a technical stop at Anchorage.
If any of those legs need to be non-stop in both directions, the honest answer is that you are shopping in the wrong class and should read the long range jet page instead.
| Leg | Approximate distance | Non-stop? |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago to London | 3,430 nm | Yes eastbound; westbound often a technical stop in winter |
| Chicago to Paris | 3,720 nm | Marginal eastbound; usually planned with a stop |
| Chicago to Honolulu | 3,600 nm | No westbound — plan a west coast fuel stop |
| Chicago to Tokyo | 5,450 nm | No — technical stop at Anchorage |
| Chicago to Sao Paulo | 4,750 nm | No — one fuel stop |
Challenger 604 compared with the G450 and the Falcon 2000LXS
Against the Gulfstream G450, the 604 gives up 350 nm of range, about 6 knots of cruise, 12.099999999999998 ft of cabin length and 54 cu ft of baggage. It wins on cabin width by 10 inches and on price by roughly $1,000 an hour at the bottom of the band. For a domestic full-cabin trip that is a good trade. For a London round trip it is not.
Against the Falcon 2000LXS, the two share the same 4,000 nm of range and the same Mach 0.80 cruise. The Falcon is narrower by 6 inches but carries 16 cu ft more baggage, climbs to 47,000 ft, and gets airborne in far less runway — which is the deciding factor if your departures are off PWK rather than DPA.
If the trip is a recurring corporate rotation rather than a one-off, the corporate jet charter desk can hold a preferred tail and a fixed crew, which usually does more for the experience than moving up a class. When you have dates, send them to the quote desk and ask for both the 604 and the alternatives priced side by side.
| Figure | Bombardier Challenger 604/605 | Gulfstream G450 | Dassault Falcon 2000LXS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Range | 4,000 nm | 4,350 nm | 4,000 nm |
| Cruise | 470 kts | 476 kts | 470 kts |
| Cabin width | 98 in | 88 in | 92 in |
| Cabin length | 28.3 ft | 40.4 ft | 26.2 ft |
| Baggage | 115 cu ft | 169 cu ft | 131 cu ft |
| Hourly range | $9,500–$11,500 | $10,500–$13,500 | $9,800–$12,000 |
Frequently asked questions
What international handling does a Challenger 604 trip need?
A handling agent is appointed at every foreign stop and arranges the landing permit, slot where one applies, ground transport airside, fuel release and customs meet. For Europe the paperwork is usually filed 48 to 72 hours ahead; for parts of South America and Africa allow a week. On a broker-arranged trip the operator's trip support provider does this and the cost appears as a pass-through line on your quote rather than inside the hourly rate.
Where do we clear customs coming back into Chicago?
You clear at a port of entry with CBP on the field. Midway has full-time CBP and is the usual choice for a late arrival. Chicago Executive and DuPage both run user-fee customs but need advance notice, and the officer's hours are not open-ended. Outbound, the operator files eAPIS manifests before departure. Give the desk final passenger details at least a day ahead so the manifest is not the reason you wait.
Can two pilots fly Chicago to London in a Challenger 604?
Yes. Under FAA Part 135 flight and duty rules an unaugmented two-pilot crew is limited to 10 hours of flight time in 24 consecutive hours within a 14-hour duty day. A 7 to 8 hour eastbound crossing fits, with the show time and post-flight duties inside the day. A westbound return with a technical stop can push past it, which is when the operator adds a third pilot or builds a legal rest overnight into the schedule.
Is the cabin connectivity good enough to work the whole way across?
Usually. Most charter 604s carry ku or ka-band on most charter airframes, which supports mail, messaging, VPN and voice over the ocean, and video calls with some patience. Coverage is satellite-based rather than air-to-ground, so it works outside North America, but it is billed by data and heavy streaming gets expensive. Ask for the specific system and the data allowance on the trip sheet before you plan a working flight around it.
How many bags will actually fit?
The hold is 115 cu ft and is accessible in flight, which in practice means eleven passengers with a roller and a suit bag each, plus golf clubs or skis. Bulk beats weight as the limiting factor on most trips. If you are carrying camera cases, hard-sided sports equipment or anything over about 70 lb per item, send dimensions to the desk so the operator can confirm before the day rather than at the airplane.
Related pages
- Heavy Jet CharterThe whole class, with rates, cabin dimensions and the step up and down.
- Gulfstream G450 charterMore range, more cabin length, more money.
- Falcon 2000LXS charterSame range in a narrower cabin that leaves shorter runways.
- Hourly rates by aircraft classHow the heavy-jet band is built and what moves a tail inside it.
Further reading from the blog
Sources and further reading
- Bombardier Challenger 650 — Bombardier's own product information for the Challenger family the 604 and 605 belong to.
- FAA regulations and policies — The source text for Part 135 operating rules, including flight time and duty limits.
- DuPage Airport Authority — Official runway and facility data for the Chicago-area field used for full-fuel heavy departures.
Get a quote for your flight
Send us the route, the date and the number of passengers. You will get real options with all-in pricing, the operator's certificate and safety rating, and the aircraft's actual tail number — not a stock photo and a starting-from price.