Some 10 months after Bombardier launched the 50-passenger Challenger 850 corporate shuttle, the first aircraft has entered service with Alberta, Canada-based Suncor Energy, parent company of Sunoco service stations. Suncor Energy will operate shuttle service for employees and contractors six days a week between its Calgary headquarters and Fort McMurray in northern Alberta. According to Bombardier, “The aircraft will complete each flight leg–a total distance of more than 350 nm–in about
one hour.” Bombardier last May announced a corporate shuttle blitz with three models– the Challenger 850, 870 and 890, derivatives of the CRJ200, 700 and 900 regional jets, respectively. This move brings the CRJ line full circle, since the regional jets themselves are all derivatives of the Challenger 601 business jet.