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.

FMI: www.bombardier.com