Ethiopian Airlines has placed a firm order for 10 Bombardier Q400s, further building Bombardier's backlog and marking continued interest in the turboprop by Africa's largest Q400 operator.
The agreement, which includes rights for Ethiopian to purchase five additional Q400s, calls for deliveries to begin in the second quarter of 2019, says Bombardier.
The deal has a value at list prices of $332 million, Bombardier says in a media release.
The sale brings Bombardier's number of outstanding Q400 orders to 58, up from just 23 aircraft one year ago.
That growth reflects several large Q400 deals.
Aerial firefighting company Conair ordered six Q400s in January, and last September Indian carrier SpiceJet placed firm orders for 25 Q400s and took options on another 25.
In June 2017, Philippine Airlines converted options for seven Q400s into firm orders and Ethiopian ordered five Q400s.
Ethiopian has now ordered the turboprops on five occasions, Bombardier says.
The Addis Ababa-based airline operates 17 Q400s and, including today's news, has outstanding orders for another 12 of the aircraft, according to Flight Fleets Analyzer.
Bombardier says recent interest in the Q400 reflects the aircraft's ability to help airlines strengthen hubs by feeding large jets.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
