Bombardier has received a letter of intent for the sale of the first Challenger 850 to an undisclosed customer in eastern Europe. The aircraft is a derivative of the CRJ200 and will be used to ferry employees between sites in Europe.

In deluxe configuration, the CL850 can accommodate up to 27 passengers in business class seating, flying up to 2,232nm and reaching speeds of Mach 0.80.

“The Challenger corporate shuttle family has been generating serious market interest and we are particularly pleased to announce this first sale so soon following its launch,” said Bombardier Business Aircraft president Peter Edwards.

Bombardier revealed its plans to launch three corporate shuttles at EBACE (see EBAN’s June issue) and marked its presence at the Paris Air Show with the announcement of the first customer.

Four additional letters of intent have been signed; two of which are from Aero Toy Stores in Florida and a further pair of CL850s are destined for an undisclosed European operator.