Bombardier Aerospace’s Q400, billed as the world’s
most advanced turboprop airliner, has departed on a demonstration
tour that will parade its capabilities before potential customers
in 15 countries. The aircraft will also be showcased in the
Bombardier Aerospace static display at the Asian Aerospace 2004 air
show at the Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore from February
23-29.
The aircraft has a North American interior configuration with 70
seats at 33-inch pitch. The Bombardier Q400 is normally configured
with between 68 and 78 seats, however SAS Commuter of Scandinavia
operates a Bombardier Q400 with 58 seats at 35-inch (90 cm) pitch
in an all-business class configuration.
The demonstration tour is expected to cover more than 36,000 nm
while visiting eight European countries, two in the Middle East and
five in the Far East. The Bombardier Q400 has received rave reviews
from the 11 customers who currently operate the aircraft in North
America, Europe and Asia. The Bombardier Q400 order book, including
103 firm orders, options and conditional orders, totals 193
aircraft. As of December 31, 2003 78 had been delivered.
The Bombardier Q400 has by far the lowest seat-mile costs of any
regional airliner. It is the ideal aircraft with which to operate a
low-cost airline between regional cities. FlyBE., an airline in the
United Kingdom, operates such a service with the Q400.
“The Bombardier Q400 can profitably serve cities with
300,000 to 800,000 population on a low-fare basis,” said
Barry MacKinnon, vice-president, marketing and airline analysis,
Bombardier Aerospace, Regional Aircraft. “These centres
– and there are more of them than there are metropolitan
areas – tend to have no low-fare service. It’s only a
matter of time before they demand this kind of service and in the
Bombardier Q400 we have the perfect airplane for it.”
With a maximum cruise speed of 360 knots at 25,000 feet, the
Bombardier Q400 has the same block times as an aircraft such as the
Boeing 737 jet on flight sectors of about 300 nm but burns
less than half as much fuel. For this reason, the Bombardier Q400
has replaced larger jet aircraft on many routes and successfully
competes with jets on others.
“It has become increasingly clear that the speed, comfort
and exceptional economics of the Bombardier Q400 give it a
substantial economic advantage over any other aircraft in its
class,” said Mr. MacKinnon.
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