The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, previously the Bombardier Dash 8, is a regional turboprop aircraft that was previously delivered in three size categories, typically seating from 37 passengers (DHC-8-100) to 90 passengers (DHC-8-400). Only the larger DHC-8-400 model remained in production until 2021. [1] The following lists both former and current operators.
As of early 2021, De Havilland announced the suspension of production after a backlog of 19 aircraft had been completed. [1] As of December 2018, the following customers had outstanding orders listed: [2]
| Airline | Orders |
|---|---|
 Biman Bangladesh Airlines | 2 |
 CIB Leasing | 1 |
 Conair Group | 5 |
 Ethiopian Airlines | 10 |
 Philippine Airlines | 2 |
 Qazaq Air | 2 |
 SpiceJet | 25 |
| US-Bangla Airlines | 3 |
| Undisclosed | 4 |
| Total | 54 |
 |
| |
| Operator | Country | Number | Model | Role | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard |  Netherlands | 2 | MPA-D8 | Maritime surveillance | [7] Based at Curaçao - Hato Air Base |
| Netherlands Coast Guard | 2 | MPA-D8 | Maritime surveillance | [8] Based at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol | |
| Australian Border Force |  Australia | 10 | -200 (6) -300 (4) | Maritime surveillance | [3] [9] |
| Royal Australian Navy | 1 | -200 | Hydrographic Survey | [10] | |
| Royal Canadian Air Force | Canada | 4 | CT-142 "Gonzo" | Navigational trainer | [11] |
| Transport Canada | 3 | M-102 | maritime surveillance (N.A.S.P.) on behalf of Canadian Coast Guard | [5] C-GCFJ (s/n 20) C-GSUR (s/n 46) C-FTFM (s/n 17) | |
| Icelandic Coast Guard |  Iceland | 1 | -300 MSA | maritime surveillance | [12] |
| Japan Coast Guard |  Japan | 7 | -300 MSA | maritime surveillance | |
| Kenya Air Force |  Kenya | 3 | -100 | medium lift transport | |
| Mexican Navy |  Mexico | 1 | -202 | utility transport | |
| Swedish Coast Guard |  Sweden | 3 | -300 MSA | maritime surveillance | [13] |
| United States Air Force |  United States | 2 | E-9A "Widget" | surveillance aircraft | [14] [15] |
| United States Army | 13 | RO-6A | surveillance aircraft | [16] [17] | |
| U.S. Customs and Border Protection | 7 | 4-200s, 3-300s MPA | Maritime Patrol |
Two used Q400s, acquired from Scandinavian Airlines System, were modified by Cascade Aerospace of Abbotsford, British Columbia for France's Sécurité Civile as fire-fighting water bombers in the fire season and as transport aircraft off season. The Q400 Airtanker can drop 10,000 L (2,200 imp gal; 2,600 US gal) [18] of water in this role compared to Bombardier's CL-415 dedicated water bomber which can drop 6,140 L (1,350 imp gal; 1,620 US gal). The latter, however, is amphibious and requires less infrastructure.
The National Police of Colombia operates a single Bombardier Dash 8-300 for utility transport. [19]
Neptune Aviation of Missoula, Montana have acquired a Q300 as a prototype for future Q200/Q300 water bombers to replace current P2V aircraft. [20]
The United States Department of State operates seven Dash 8-300 aircraft. [21]
Widerøes Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a Norwegian airline, and is the largest regional airline operating in the Nordic countries. The airline's fleet of 48 aircraft, includes 45 De Havilland Dash 8 turboprops as well as 3 Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, serving 49 domestic and international destinations. Widerøe has a turnover of 3.5 billion kr; carries 2.8 million annual passengers; has 3,500 employees and performs 450 take-offs and landings each day.
CommuteAir is a regional airline of the United States founded in 1989. Today, CommuteAir operates more than 1,600 weekly flights, exclusively on behalf of United Express, serving over 75 U.S. destinations and 3 in Mexico. CommuteAir's fleet of Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft fly from its bases at Washington–Dulles and Houston–Intercontinental. The company was previously called CommutAir until July 26, 2022, when it legally changed its name to the present-day CommuteAir.
United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which five individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights.
Air Wisconsin Airlines is a regional airline based at Appleton International Airport in the town of Greenville, Wisconsin near Appleton, Wisconsin. Air Wisconsin originally operated as one of the original United Express partners in 1985, and subsequently operated as US Airways Express on behalf of US Airways prior to becoming an American Eagle regional air carrier. Between March 2018 and April 2023, Air Wisconsin operated exclusively as a United Express regional air carrier once again with primary hubs located at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). This came to an end in April 2023 as the carrier switched to conducting solely American Eagle branded flights, under a new contract with American Airlines.
Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) (Swahili: Kampuni ya Ndege ya Tanzania) is the flag carrier airline of Tanzania. It is based in Dar es Salaam, with its hub at Julius Nyerere International Airport.
The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was bought by Boeing in 1986, then by Bombardier in 1992, then by Longview Aviation Capital in 2019; Longview revived the De Havilland Canada brand. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150s, it was developed from the Dash 7 with improved cruise performance and lower operational costs, but without STOL performance. The Dash 8 was offered in four sizes: the initial Series 100 (1984–2005), the more powerful Series 200 (1995–2009) with 37–40 seats, the Series 300 (1989–2009) with 50–56 seats, and Series 400 (1999–2022) with 68–90 seats. The QSeries are post-1997 variants fitted with active noise control systems.
LIAT (1974) Ltd, also known as Leeward Islands Air Transport Services and operating as LIAT, was a regional airline headquartered in Antigua and Barbuda that operated high-frequency inter-island scheduled services to 15 destinations in the Caribbean. The airline's main base was V.C. Bird International Airport, Antigua and Barbuda, with a secondary base at Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados.
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (DHC) is a Canadian aircraft manufacturer that has produced numerous aircraft models since its inception including the popular Dash 8. The company's primary facilities were located in the Downsview area of Toronto, Ontario for many years; in 2022, it was announced that it would relocate primary manufacturing to De Havilland Field, under development near Calgary, Alberta. The aircraft types currently in production or planned for production include the DHC-6 Twin Otter, DHC-8 Dash 8, and DHC-515 Firefighter.
The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with short take-off and landing (STOL) performance. Variants were built with 50–54 seats. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent company, de Havilland Canada, was purchased by Boeing in 1986 and later sold to Bombardier. In 2006 Bombardier sold the type certificate for the aircraft design to Victoria-based manufacturer Viking Air.
Time Air was an airline in Canada founded in 1966 by businessman Walter “Stubb” Ross from Lethbridge in Alberta. It was called Lethbridge Air Service before becoming Time Airways Ltd. in 1969, which was later shortened to Time Air Ltd. In 1993 it was merged with Ontario Express to create Canadian Regional Airlines.
Ryukyu Air Commuter (RAC) is a Japanese regional airline headquartered in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It operates domestic passenger services from the island of Okinawa to other islands of Okinawa Prefecture and the Amami Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture. It is owned by Japan Transocean Air (74.5%), Okinawa Prefecture (6.3%), Minamidaito (4,8%) Kumejima (4,3%) Kitadaito (4,0%) and other shareholders (6,1%).
Flagstaff Pulliam Airport is 5 miles south of Flagstaff, in Coconino County, Arizona, United States. The airport is serviced by American Eagle, and is also used for general aviation. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a "primary commercial service" airport. It is the closest airport to Grand Canyon National Park with scheduled passenger service from a major airline.
Sunstate Airlines is a subsidiary of Qantas which operates regional flights under the QantasLink banner throughout New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and to Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Its head office is in Mascot, New South Wales, Australia.
Rocky Mountain Airways was a commuter airline in the United States that operated from 1963 until it merged with Britt Airways in 1991. It was headquartered in Hangar No. 6 of the now-closed Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. It was sold to Texas Air Corporation/Continental Airlines in 1986 and was operated as a Continental Express subsidiary until its operations were merged with Britt Airways in 1991. The airline flew from Denver's Stapleton International Airport to a variety of destinations in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming. The airline operated out of the old commuter terminal in Concourse A at Stapleton.
Conair Group Inc. of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, formerly known as Conair Aviation, is a company specializing in retrofitting firefighting aircraft, maintaining customer and company-owned aircraft and aerial firefighting. Conair currently employs over 250 staff and has a fleet of aircraft that are broken down into two categories; air attack, and airtankers. Conair specializes in fire management support by providing services and products to forest protection agencies around the world. In 1996 Conair became a Canadian Air Tractor dealer for the AT-802F air tanker. A former Conair Group division; Cascade Aerospace was acquired by the IMP Group of Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2012.
Viking Air Ltd. was an operator and manufacturer of aircraft, as well as aircraft parts and systems, based at Victoria International Airport in North Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The company provides upgrades to the DHC-2 Beaver, spare parts for older de Havilland Canada aircraft, and components for Bell Helicopter Textron. The company operated as a subsidiary of De Havilland Canada until it was amalgamated into it in August 2024.
Air Philippines Corporation, operating as PAL Express and formerly branded as Air Philippines and Airphil Express, is a wholly-owned subsidiary airline of Philippine Airlines. It is PAL's regional brand, with services from its hubs in Manila, Clark, Cebu, and Davao.
The Direction générale de la sécurité civile et de la gestion des crises is a civil defense agency of the French Government. It operates for the Ministry of the Interior and employs some 2,500 civilian and military personnel over 60 sites. Known as the Protection Civile until 1976, the Sécurité Civile is split into several branches:
Era Aviation was a fixed wing airline as well as a commercial helicopter operation based in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. It operated a network of scheduled fixed wing passenger services from Anchorage as well as from Bethel, AK on behalf of Alaska Airlines via a code sharing agreement. Its main base was located at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC). Era Aviation has since been renamed Corvus Airlines who currently do business as Ravn Alaska. The company slogan was FlySmart. FlyEra.
WestJet Encore is a Canadian regional airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta that operates feeder flights for WestJet, owned by the same parent company WestJet Airlines, Ltd. In response to internal market studies about future growth limitations by WestJet Airlines operating only Boeing 737 aircraft, WestJet Encore was formed in 2013 to allow the increased frequency of flights by using smaller aircraft and to expand service to routes with less traffic. Originally launching as a feeder airline for the mainline WestJet network out of WestJet hubs in Calgary and Toronto, the airline was refocused on Western Canada in 2021, with all service east of Thunder Bay cancelled and all aircraft either repositioned or stored.
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