End of the Line for the Dash-8?

[Dh8Classic]

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/d ... d=msedgntp

Pause on production.

[RedAndWhiteBaron]

Username checks out.

[GoinVertical]

They were going to have to pause production at some point in order to relocate the assembly plant from Downsview... so while it still sucks, the timing on this may almost be helpful in getting things arranged and moved.

I'd say as long as there are orders, production will restart. If routes are thinner post-covid then business might come back strong forward DeHavilland. I think the biggest thing that stands in their way now is the sheer number of Q400's available for sale/lease.

[PanEuropean]

The big challenge will be competition from used Dash 8 400 aircraft that are up for sale. Almost exactly one year ago, FlyBe in the UK folded up, and at the time they shut down, they had 54 (fifty-four) Dash 8 400 aircraft in their fleet, all of them relatively young aircraft.

That big group of currently grounded and for sale aircraft is enough to supply the market for some time to come.

[dhc#]

Conair is taking upwards of 11 of those 54 parked FlyBE Q400's to convert into waterbombers...

As for deHavilland Canada, I wonder if they will move the assembly line out west for the lower taxes and cheaper land, once they leave Downsview in a few years time.

De Havilland Canada Charts Future for the Dash 8 Aircraft Program

https://canadianaviationnews.wordpress. ... t-program/

[airway]

Conair is taking upwards of 11 of those 54 parked FlyBE Q400's to convert into waterbombers...

As for deHavilland Canada, I wonder if they will move the assembly line out west for the lower taxes and cheaper land, once they leave Downsview in a few years time.

De Havilland Canada Charts Future for the Dash 8 Aircraft Program

https://canadianaviationnews.wordpress. ... t-program/

They are leaving Downsview by the end of the year.



.

[PanEuropean]

There is an interesting article on the website "Simple Flying" about the overhang of used Dash 8 400 aircraft on the market:

https://simpleflying.com/flybe-collapse ... perations/

[2R]

Might not be too much of a surprise if the production followed the C series to Alabama ,or if they did a production run in India for the local market , like the production run of F16s India variants .
All the hard design and build issues have been solved so an assembly point can be put anywhere , Thunder Bay with cheap housing might make sense .

[Longtimer]

De Havilland Canada Charts Future for the Dash 8 Aircraft Program
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (CNW Group/De Havilland Aircraft of Canada)
NEWS PROVIDED BY

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada
Feb 17, 2021, 12:35 ET

SHARE THIS ARTICLE https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/d ... 04454.html

Focused on enhancing support to the global Dash 8 community as the aviation industry recovers
TORONTO, Feb. 17, 2021 /CNW/ - De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited ("De Havilland Canada") today reaffirmed its long-term commitment to the global Dash 8 operator community and outlined the path forward for the Dash 8 aircraft program. While the pandemic has ravaged the global aviation industry, De Havilland Canada is making future-oriented investments in its organization, systems and infrastructure to enhance the Dash 8 platform for current and future aircraft operators.

[theflyingmoose]

Apparently there are 186 Q-400's in storage
https://leehamnews.com/2021/01/12/de-ha ... log-built/

Even if there's renewed demand post-pandemic, DHC may focus on reactivating these stored aircraft instead of restarting production

[dhc#]

Perhaps a secondary market for many of those parked Dash 8 400s.

PAL Aerospace and De Havilland Canada Announce MOU to Develop Dash 8 P-4 Special Mission Aircraft

https://canadianaviationnews.wordpress. ... -aircraft/

[theflyingmoose]

They were going to have to pause production at some point in order to relocate the assembly plant from Downsview... so while it still sucks, the timing on this may almost be helpful in getting things arranged and moved.

I'd say as long as there are orders, production will restart. If routes are thinner post-covid then business might come back strong forward DeHavilland. I think the biggest thing that stands in their way now is the sheer number of Q400's available for sale/lease.

I looked into it a bit - seems like there will be orders: https://theflyingmoose.net/is-the-dash-8-dead/

Also agreed on how COVID can benefit turboprops. A shift to regional travel (thanks to international restrictions) + airlines looking for more fuel efficiency could pump up demand for Dash 8s. Some updates to the model would be nice, but the market seems to have settled into a comfortable status quo between DHC and ATR, unless Embraer actually gets their turboprop out.

[alti2d]

Saw this one in YXX a few years ago... Seems to be lots of after-airline rolls for the plane to fill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02ZB9bo-g2Q

[Kosiw]

The -400 cabin is a probably a bit much for typical ISR work, the -100s and -300s airframes had more success.