List of De Havilland Canada Dash 8 operators

The De Havilland Canada Dash 8, previously the Bombardier Dash 8, is a regional turboprop aircraft that was previously delivered in three size categories, typically seating from 37 passengers (DHC-8-100) to 90 passengers (DHC-8-400). Only the larger DHC-8-400 model remained in production until 2021. The following lists both former and current operators.

Unfilled orders

As of early 2021, De Havilland announced the suspension of production after a backlog of 19 aircraft had been completed. As of December 2018, the following customers had outstanding orders listed:

Civil operators

A Widerøe De Havilland 100 series at Sandane Airport
An Air Greenland De Havilland 200 series at Nuuk Airport
An Air New Zealand De Havilland 300 series at Wellington Airport
A WestJet Encore De Havilland 400 series at Calgary International Airport
An E-9A Widget (developed from the 100 series) of the United States Air Force over Tyndall Air Force Base
The underside of a Q400-MR (a Q400 adapted to aerial firefighting) as flown by the French Sécurité Civile
A CT-142 operated by the Canadian Air Force
The cockpit on a 300 series
The cockpit on a 400 series
Inside a 400 series cabin with four-abreast, 2–2 seating
Landing gear bay on a QantasLink Dash 8 Q400 at Canberra Airport
Landing gear of QantasLink Dash 8 Q400 at Canberra Airport

Figures for Canadian operators are correct as of 10 February 2025. The reference includes one DHC-8-102 operated by Hawkair Aviation Services. However, the airline ceased operations in 2016, the certificate of registration was cancelled and the aircraft is not listed below with current operators.

  • A total of 164 Dash 8 Series 100 aircraft were in airline service with 39 operators as of July 2018 and February 2025.[needs update]
  • A total of 54 Dash 8 Series 200 aircraft were in commercial service with 27 operators as of July 2018 and February 2025.[needs update]
  • A total of 159 Dash 8 Series 300 aircraft were in airline service, with 45 operators as of July 2018 and February 2025.[needs update]
  • A total of 443 DHC-8-400 aircraft are in airline service, with 55 operators as of July 2018 and February 2025.[needs update]

Notes

  • A.^ All 39 of the 400 series in the Jazz Aviation fleet and 7 of the 15 in the PAL Airlines fleet are operated under the brand name Air Canada Express.

Former civil operators

Remarks

Coast guard, border guard and military operators

Other applications

Two used Q400s, acquired from Scandinavian Airlines System, were modified by Cascade Aerospace of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada for France's Sécurité Civile as fire-fighting water bombers in the fire season and as transport aircraft off season. The Q400 Airtanker can drop 10,000 L (2,200 imp gal; 2,600 US gal) of water in this role compared to De Havilland Canada's CL-415 dedicated water bomber which can drop 6,140 L (1,350 imp gal; 1,620 US gal). The latter, however, is an amphibious aircraft and requires less infrastructure.

The National Police of Colombia operates a single De Havilland Dash 8-300 for utility transport.

Neptune Aviation of Missoula, Montana have acquired a Q300 as a prototype for future Q200/Q300 water bombers to replace current P2V aircraft.

The United States Department of State operates seven Dash 8-300 aircraft.

References

Uses material from the Wikipedia article List of De Havilland Canada Dash 8 operators, released under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.