De Havilland Canada could decide in 2025 whether to launch an updated variant of the Dash 8 turboprop, a move that would see the company shake up a market now largely controlled by competitor ATR.
Calgary-based De Havilland said during the Farnborough air show that it is considering the reboot, while also announcing that another reboot – the DHC-6 Twin Otter 300-G – is on track for certification this year.
The company last year began speaking to customers about an updated Dash 8, soliciting feedback about ideal aircraft size, seating, propulsion and efficiency. Executives say they could possibly bring an updated variant to market around the end of this decade.
Customers “are telling us there is definitely a place for a turboprop in the market”, says De Havilland vice-president of corporate affairs Neil Sweeney.
De Havilland’s parent Longview Aviation Capital acquired the Dash 8 programme from Bombardier in 2019. It stopped producing Dash 8-400s – the last of the Dash 8 line – in 2022 as demand slumped due to the Covid-19 pandemic. That left ATR as the lone Western producer of turboprops in the roughly 50-80-seat range.
But De Havilland still holds claim to a robust fleet of in-service Dash 8s, with nearly 800 – including some 400 Dash 8-400s – still flying, according to Cirium data.
Opportunity exists to sell replacements. “The time is right to determine what operators are looking for in their fleet planning, and where a new Dash 8 might fit in,” De Havilland says.
Executives express little interest in the expensive process of developing a clean-sheet turboprop but say a modified and updated Dash 8 could be a market winner.
The company has revealed few technical details, but Sweeney says customers have expressed interest in aircraft roughly size of the Dash 8-300 or larger Dash 8-400.
Executives note De Havilland recently introduced two other updated types following similar product reviews: the DHC-515 water bomber and DHC-6 Twin Otter Classic 300-G.
De Havilland now produces Twin Otters and DHC-515s in Calgary but is moving forward with development of a massive new production facility near Calgary called De Havilland Field. It plans to transition production to that site, which would also house Dash 8 production, should it restart.
Also during the Farnborough show De Havilland revealed it has established a Dash 8 refurbishment programme that will help keep the turboprops flying for years. Through the programme, De Havilland acquires and revamps used Dash 8s, performing maintenance, addressing service bulletins, completing service life extensions and installing avionics upgrades. It then sells the aircraft.
De Havilland has inducted 28 Dash 8s into the programme, and has placed 21 of those with customers, says Sweeney.
Executives say the refurbishments allow the aircraft to fly beyond the end of this decade, create a bridge to when De Havilland might restart the Dash 8 line.
At Farnborough, De Havilland revealed several orders for refurbished Dash 8-400s. Norway’s Wideroe ordered two, Kenya’s Skyward Express agreed to purchase one, ANA Holdings signed for seven and the Tanzania Government Flight Agency signed for one.
