Bombardier delivers its first air ambulance-configured Challenger 650 to Swiss Air-Rescue Rega

Swiss Air-Rescue Rega takes delivery of converted Challenger 650

Swiss air ambulance service Air-Rescue Rega has taken delivery of its first Challenger 650 aircraft and will take possession of two more later this year as it replaces its earlier-generation Challenger 604 fleet.

The interiors and medical equipment are custom-made: a project team comprising Rega pilots, medics and engineers in collaboration with external specialists has spent the last four years designing the new cabin fit-out. Patients will benefit not just from wider, multifunctional stretchers and reduced cabin noise, but also from cockpit technology that, for example, permits the pilots to use higher altitude flight routes across the Atlantic, which in turn means improved fuel efficiency and fewer refuelling stops on long-distance flights.

In addition, a new weather radar increases safety during missions, and an infrared camera makes it possible to fly to airports in difficult weather conditions, which is a great advantage for Rega pilots who fly to more than 400 airports in all corners of the globe every year.

CEO Ernst Kohler says: "The new Rega jet is one of the most modern civil ambulance aircraft worldwide. We are thus ensuring that in the coming years Rega can continue to come to the aid of its patients all over the world in a reliable and professional manner."