Three of Air Baltic’s A220s are painted in liveries inspired by the flags of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
Back then the aircraft was known as the Bombardier CS300, before being renamed when Airbus took a majority stake in its C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership. The Latvian flag carrier was the launch customer for the A220-300 in 2016. “Airbus A220-300 are the backbone of our future growth.”Īir Baltic said that its Bombardier Q400 Next Gen aircraft had carried more than 11 million passengers across over 222,000 flights. “Our Q400 fleet helped us to get where we are today – flying the youngest and most modern fleet in Europe,” continued Gauss. Worldwide, Bombardier states more than 60 owners and operators fly Q400 aircraft in nearly 40 countries.Air Baltic has confirmed plans to retire its Bombardier Q400 aircraft, with the carrier beginning the process of returning the turboprops to lessor Nordic Aviation Capital.Ī total of 12 Q400s are set to be returned by the end of the year, leaving the airline with a fleet of 36 A220-300 aircraft.Īir Baltic made the decision to become an all-A220 carrier shortly after the onset of Covid-19, and Martin Gauss, chief executive officer said that “The first redelivery flight marks an official end to our previous stage of development”. SpiceJet has purchased 15 Q400 aircraft since 2010 and operates 20 Q400s in 78-seat configurations. In the Australian region, Bombardier reports 240-plus Q Series turboprops are in operation or on order and 380 aircraft total when adding in the company’s CRJ Series regional jets. To date, the Montreal-located Bombardier has taken 610 firm orders for Q400s. Bombardier’s Fred Cromer, president of commercial aircraft, stated the recent order confirms there are increasing “capacity needs on regional routes with high passenger demand” as well as “demonstrates the increased profitability potential that this unique turboprop configuration has to offer.” In a press release, Bombardier’s Francois Cognard, vice president of sales for the South-Asia and Australasia regions, noted that especially in India, Bombardier is witnessing passenger-per-departure growth in the turboprop sector. SpiceJet operates the largest regional fleet in India. At 90 seats, the latest Q400 configuration expands on previous 78- and 86-seat Q400 models and makes the 2016-introduced 90-seat Q400 the largest turboprop in the market. The newest member of Bombardier’s Q Series, the Q400 is available in a standard single-class configuration as well as an optional extra-capacity configuration that targets higher-density markets.
Overall, the order is the largest single one ever for the Q400 program. The agreement will initially see Bombardier delivering 25 Q400 aircraft to SpiceJet, which has purchase rights for another 25. Upon delivery, SpiceJet, operator of largest regional fleet in India, will become the first global operator of a 90-seat turboprop (pending certification).
Back then, the Dash 8-100 was a regional turboprop aircraft with a maximum passenger capacity of 38 people. The Dash 8-400 is the fourth series iteration of the Dash 8, which was brought into service in 1983. In a “firm purchase agreement” valued at $1.7 billion that was initiated at the Paris Air Show in June and concluded in late September, Canadian plane and train manufacturer Bombardier Commercial Aircraft will deliver 50 of its extra-capacity 90-seat Q400 turboprop airliners to India-based airline SpiceJet Limited. The aircraft series was transferred to Bombardier's ownership in 1992 who owned the development of the Dash 8-400.
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