Chorus orders up to 23 Bombardier Q400 NextGen

Air Canada Express Q400 NextGen (© Bombardier)
Air Canada Express Q400 NextGen (© Bombardier)

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft and Chorus Aviation, parent company of Jazz Aviation LP (‘Jazz’) announced that they have signed a firm purchase agreement whereby Chorus will acquire 13 Q400 NextGen aircraft and options for 10 Q400 NextGen aircraft. Once delivered, the aircraft will be operated by Jazz under the Air Canada Express banner.  The Companies also announced Chorus and Jazz as the launch customer and operator for the industry’s first Dash 8-300 aircraft Extended Service Program that will extend the life of the Dash 8-300 turboprop to 120,000 flight cycles from the original 80,000 flight cycles.

Based on the list price of the Q400 NextGen aircraft, the firm order is valued at approximately          $424 million US, and could increase to $758 million US should Chorus exercise all its options.

The Extended Service Program will extend the service life of Jazz’s Dash 8-300 aircraft by 50 per cent, or approximately 15 years.  The agreement covers a minimum of 19 aircraft and the program will begin in early 2017.

The Extended Service Program will be accomplished through several structural and engineering analyses, applying fatigue and test data that has been accumulated on the Dash 8-300 aircraft. It will be initiated through a Service Bulletin that will make reference to a new Maintenance Program Supplement. As launch operator, Jazz will incorporate the Service Bulletin and Maintenance Program Supplement and arrange for the replacement of some structural and systems components as identified by the Service Bulletin.

In 2009, Bombardier successfully launched the Dash 8-100 aircraft Extended Service Program alongside Widerøe’s Flyveselskap AS of Norway as launch customer for that aircraft type.