At the recent Regional Airlines Association (RAA) Leaders Conference in late September in Washington, De Havilland Canada (DHC) highlighted a new 65-seat cabin version for the Dash 8-400. New, in particular, is the option to include Premium Economy seating on the turboprop aircraft. So we asked DHC to further explain what this three-class cabin is all about and update us on the status of the Dash 8-400 production since the closure of the Downsview site. Three-class Dash 8-400 targets regional jets. De Havilland Canada usually advertises the Dash 8-400 as a 90-seater, although many operators prefer a 72 to 76 seat layout. Some airlines have opted for a single-class version while others offer a Business Class. “The Dash 8-400 already has several First Class and premium class layouts available and in service globally. Many Dash 8-400s have been delivered with three-abreast premium seating in the forward rows, dual lavatories, cabin class dividers, and galley and wardrobe arrangements typically found in dual-class aircraft”, says Philippe Poutissou, DHC’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “In fact, this flexibility is one of the differentiators for the Dash 8-400 versus other turboprops. Only the Dash 8-400 can offer true first class/premium class service with forward and rear boarding doors for separated boarding, as well as forward and rear galleys and dual lavatories for differentiated on-board service.” 'Our three-class product is better than that on larger aircraft' Presented at the RAA on September 27-28 was a 65-seat, three-class version. It includes seven First Class seats at three abreast and a pitch of 37 inches, twenty Premium Economy seats at a pitch of 33 inches, leaving room for 38 Economy Class seats with a 31-inch pitch. “The three-class, 65-seat arrangement we displayed at the RAA is optimized to the North American market where there are specific seating capacity requirements to stay within airline Scope Clauses. There are approximately 500 early-generation (mostly 50-seat) regional jets still operating in North America that will need to be replaced in the coming decade”, says Poutissou. He says that the three-class layout offers a product “that is equal or better than what can be found on large regional jets or single-aisle domestic aircraft. The Dash 8-400 is uniquely positioned to meet that requirement through its combination of low operating costs and jet-like performance largely matching those of the 50-seat jets on sectors up to 500 nautical miles but with the benefit of increased revenue generated via the three-class cabin.” Animation showing the three-class version of the Dash 8-400. (De Havilland Canada) While attractive to North-American operators of the Dash 8-400, its appeal should also interest airlines in other regions, says Poutissou: “For example, the First Class cabin and dual lavatory features have been popular with African operators who use our aircraft to supplement jets on international regional routes where premium-class service is required.” De Havilland Canada is offering the new cabin on new aircraft (more on that later…) and as a retrofit on the existing Dash 8-400 fleet, known as the Q400 until Longview Capital took over the program from Bombardier in June 2019. Says Poutissou: “The interior reconfiguration for a retrofit should be considered “easy.” Structural changes are largely limited to the insertion of a third seat rail for the three-abreast seating, which is an optional feature in production and not installed on all aircraft. The overall level of effort depends on the starting configuration, but since most of the features that make up the package exist in-production aircraft, the creation of a Service Bulletin to modify in-service aircraft is fairly routine.” DHC has experience with this, having introduced the Simplified Package Freighter Conversion program through an SB in May 2020. DHC tight-lipped on new production site As far as new aircraft are concerned, DHC has little to offer customers at this moment. With a combination of the slump in sales during the Covid-crisis and the termination of the contract for the former Bombardier production site at Downsview, De Havilland Canada announced in February that it would pause production of the 8-400. Ten aircraft have been delivered so far this year to Biman Bangladesh, Qazaq Air, Air Tanzania, Ethiopian Airlines, and TAAG. Most were assembled in 2020 and some just before the line closed down this spring. “Given that prevailing industry circumstances have hindered the ability to confirm new aircraft sales, we have announced that we will pause production of Dash 8-400 aircraft. Furthermore, since the production site at Downsview had been sold by Bombardier prior to our acquisition of the program, we’ve decided not to produce new aircraft at our Downsview site beyond currently confirmed orders”, DHC says in a statement. “Our objective is to resume new aircraft production at a new site at the earliest possible time, subject to market demand. We believe that this pause in production is a responsible and prudent measure that reflects current industry conditions, and will limit strain on the market and De Havilland Canada’s supply base as the pandemic recovery occurs.” DHC is unwilling to share details of the potential locations for its new assembly line, but Calgary has been mentioned as a likely candidate. The luggage bins have space for two big roller bags. (De Havilland Canada) Improving the Dash 8 continues The Canadian airframer says that while the pandemic has created challenges for DHC and “for all of us in the aerospace industry (…), there are also opportunities to accelerate our journey.” The company is forging ahead with a number of strategic initiatives focused on uninterrupted service to customers, business transformation, and continuous product development. “We are committed to nothing less than re-positioning the De Havilland Canada brand to the forefront of the regional aircraft and Canadian aerospace industry.” There are numerous projects that it is working on. “We are investing in the aircraft platform, and in our organization, systems, and infrastructure to enhance the Dash 8 platform for current and future aircraft operators. Included amongst our organizational initiatives are the rationalization of our IT landscape to replace 300+ legacy business applications with an extended Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform. And there is the development of our own online customer portal and global spare parts distribution network as we transition the Dash 8 program away from its previous owner.” De Havilland Canada has been present at the limited airshow and business events that have been held this year despite the pandemic, including MAKS2021 in Moscow. In November, the Canadians will return to the 2019 Dubai Airshow, when they were quite successful. DHC signed Letters of Intent for 37 aircraft, although many of these deals have not been confirmed.
