Air Tanzania has taken delivery of the last DeHavilland Dash 8 Q400 to be built for the foreseeable future. The program is currently indefinitely suspended as the Canadian manufacturer suffers from decreased demand for its aircraft. The aircraft was ferried to Tanzania in late July.
The DeHavilland Dash 8 Q400 is a vital part of the world’s turboprop fleet, with everybody from airBaltic and Flybe to Ethiopian Airlines and SpiceJet flying the type. However, now The manufacturer will pause construction of new examples indefinitely as DeHavilland deals with a drop in demand for its new aircraft prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last Dash 8 Q400 delivered to Air Tanzania
Last month Air Tanzania took delivery of the last Q400 to be built for the foreseeable future, according to ch-aviation.com. The aircraft carries the manufacturer’s serial number 4624 (also held by an easyJet Airbus A319) and is registered as 5H-TCK.
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According to data from FlightRadar24.com, the aircraft was delivered on its Canadian test registration of C-GPPU. Of course, such a tiny aircraft can’t fly non-stop from Canada to Tanzania. As a result, the plane made six stops en route to its new owner,
- Start: Toronto Downsview – Canada
- Goose Bay – Canada
- Keflavik – Iceland
- Rotterdam – The Netherlands
- Heraklion – Greece
- Luxor – Egypt
- Addis Ababa – Ethiopia
- Arrive: Dar es Salaam – Tanzania
The first leg of the journey to Goose Bay took place on April 28th. After resting its wings for three months, the turboprop left Goose bay on April 28th, arriving in Dar es Salaam on July 30th.
Read More: How Do Turboprops Get Delivered To Far Away Customers?
About Air Tanzania
Air Tanzania was founded in 1997 as a scheduled carrier. The airline is based out of Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam (DAR), and according to ch-aviation.com, it serves 26 routes to 18 destinations spread across six countries.
The airline has a somewhat varied fleet of aircraft, from turboprops to narrowbodies and even the latest widebodies. According to ch-aviation.com, the current fleet stands at,
- 2x Airbus A220-300 (one listed as inactive)
- 2x Boeing 787-8 (two listed as inactive)
- 1x DeHavilland Dash 8 Q300 (one listed as inactive)
- 5x DeHavilland Dash 8 Q400 (one listed as inactive)
- 1x Fokker F28-3000 (one listed as inactive)
- 1x Fokker F50 (one listed as inactive)
What’s happening to the Dash 8 program?
In February, Simple Flying reported that DeHavilland was set to press pause on the production of the Dash 8. The manufacturer revealed that it would fulfill the current orders for the type before bringing things to a halt.
DeHavilland hopes to resume production of the type once the pandemic has passed. To do this, demand for new Dash 8 aircraft would need to return. It remains committed to the aircraft program, continuing to offer aftersales support to customers. However, no firm plan has been laid out for the program to resume.
Are you sad to see the Dash 8 program grind to a halt for the time being? Let us know what you think and why in the comments down below!
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