Canadian airlines like turboprops.
Like, really like turboprops.
In theory, one could travel from coast to coast on exclusively turboprop airplanes,
starting in Masset, British Columbia, and ending in St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Granted, you wouldn’t be able to feel your legs or hear afterwards, but it could be done.
For a country like Canada, which only really has 5 or 6 population centres with more than
a million people, these turboprop airliners are hugely important, since they provide vital
links to smaller communities.
Some of the more popular turboprops in the country include the Beechcraft 1900, Saab
340, Fairchild Metroliner, ATR 42 and 72, and the Canadian-built Dash 8 family.
Altogether, these 5 types make up the bulk of regional passenger and cargo flying in
the country, in the size range of 18 to 78 passengers.
To put this in perspective, if you combine those 5 types alone, these account for around
500 aircraft on the Canadian Civil Aircraft Register.
Taking into account some of these aircraft being stored or not actually flying, and adding
back in some less popular but still widely used types, and it’s safe to say there are
around 300 to 400 turboprops in this segment.
Now all of this may seem incredibly specific, but it’s these airplanes that you’ll find
at the vast majority of Canadian airports, whether they’re operating scheduled, charter,
or cargo flights.
Most of these aircraft though are now out of production, with the exception of the Dash
8-400, where production is currently paused, and the ATR 42 and 72-600s.
If we whittle the list down to not include the Dash 8-400 or any ATRs, that leaves around
200 18-50 seater turboprop airliners, most of which are Beech 1900s and Classic Dash
8 models - that is, the -100, -200, and -300 variants.
The newest Beech 1900s built date back to the early 2000s, and the last of the 37 to
50 seat Dash 8s were built in 2009, but are still supported by De Havilland Canada.
Given all this, there’s one Canadian airline in particular that’s been slowly reducing
the number of smaller aircraft operating throughout their network over the past few years - flag
carrier Air Canada.
Back in 2019, Air Canada had a number of smaller aircraft operating for them under Capacity
Purchase Agreements with various operators.
Those ranged from 18-seat Beech 1900s with Air Georgian and EVAS Air to the 37, 50, and
78-seat Dash 8-100s, -300s, and -400s with Jazz Aviation.
Throughout their final years with the Beech 1900s, Air Canada had seemed to progressively
distance themselves from the type, going as far as to have any Air Canada branding removed
from the airplanes.
Eventually, Beech 1900 flying ended with Air Georgian at the end of April 2019, but continued
with EVAS Air for a bit longer.
It was never officially confirmed as to why Air Canada distanced themselves from the 1900,
but the lack of a flight attendant, the limited amenities on board, and the general economics
of their operation may have contributed to that decision.
The following year, as things changed dramatically around the world, Air Canada also made the
decision to retire the 37-seat Dash 8-100s.
Although these were expected to leave the fleet at the end of 2020 anyway, their retirement
was accelerated to May 2020 instead.
Now, the Dash 8-100s flying for Air Canada Express were some of the earliest models built,
with most dating back to the late 1980s.
As such, they were approaching the end of their lifespan anyway, but without a direct replacement.
Facing some difficult circumstances, it was during this period that Air Canada cut a considerable
number of routes to smaller communities across the country.
Although this raised some understandable concern, the reality is that, unlike the United States,
Canada has no “Essential Air Service” subsidy, which would require carriers to maintain
a minimum level of service to certain remote areas.
And so, it’s not as though an airline can simply put a 50-seat Dash 8 on a route where
there might only be the demand for 10 or 20 passengers a day.
At a time when Air Canada had been said to be losing “millions per day”, the truth
is that unprofitable regional flights would be the first to go.
This was compounded further in March of 2021, as further consolidation of Air Canada’s
regional flying took place, as well as the announcement of the retirement of the remaining
Classic Dash 8s.
Similar to the -100s, the majority of Air Canada Express’ Dash 8-300s were built in
the late 80s and early 90s.
Despite most having undergone an “Extended Service Program” which extends the aircraft’s
life for another 15 years, the Dash 8-300s were expected to fly their final Air Canada
Express flights in late 2021 or into early 2022.
The retirement of the Dash 8-300s will leave the CRJ-100/-200 as the smallest type operating
Air Canada flights, but these aren’t necessarily a suitable replacement for Dash 8 flying.
Although they do also seat 50 passengers, the CRJ has different performance requirements.
The CRJ-100 and -200 models require around 5,000 to 6,000 feet of runway for takeoff,
compared to the 3,000 to 4,000 feet or so for the Dash 8-300.
That alone limits the number of remote airports the CRJ can serve.
So there’s no direct replacement for the Dash 8-300 in the current fleet beyond a larger
Dash 8-400, which may have more empty seats and a slightly higher operating cost.
Leaving certain areas of the country without air service is not an ideal situation whatsoever,
and for many smaller airports, their recovery may never match pre-2020 levels.
This loss of connectivity is detrimental to not only the movement of passengers, but the
movement of goods and a community’s overall economic development.
Air Canada’s departure from these regional markets has led other carriers to fill in
the void though, including Pacific Coastal and Central Mountain Air throughout British Columbia.
Further east, PAL Airlines of Newfoundland and Labrador has also taken over some of these routes,
even signing an interline agreement with Air Canada themselves.
While they are flying more suitably-sized airplanes, these smaller carriers are still
using older Beech 1900s, Classic Dash 8s, or other out-of-production aircraft.
Similarly, WestJet’s own regional brand WestJet Link
uses Saab 340s that date back to the late 90s.
Sooner or later, all of these aircraft will need replacing, and for these smaller carriers,
simply exiting the market like Air Canada has done is not a viable option.
So, the effects of 2020 aside, replacing these smaller aircraft is a bit more complex than you’d think.
Not only is the industry trending towards more sustainable technologies and aircraft,
but the sheer amount of Beech 1900s and Dash 8s built means that there’s an ample source of spare parts.
On the Beech 1900 side, there’s just not really any immediate replacement, aside from
buying up other 1900s.
The new Cessna SkyCourier can carry 19 passengers, but isn’t pressurized, which would not make
it terribly useful for passenger flights in the mountainous regions of Western Canada.
There is also the electric ES-19 from Heart Aerospace that United has signed an agreement for.
These aircraft only have a range of 250 kilometers though, which makes it more useful for inter-city
flights initially rather than serving a remote town.
Although there’s definite potential for improvement as battery technology advances,
the idea of electric aircraft in remote areas could raise some eyebrows.
On the larger side, the ATR 42 offers a pretty comparable payload between the Dash 8-100s
and -300s, being able to seat 42 passengers.
The type is still in production too, with the ATR 42-600 being the newest model on offer.
Both Air North and Canadian North operate the type throughout Canada’s three Territories,
flying ATR 42-300s and a mix of -300s and -500s, respectively.
Like other regional airplanes though, these are also between 20 and 35 years old.
There are various new regional airliner concepts out there, including a stretched, and re-engined
“Dornier 328eco” that would be designed to run on sustainable aviation fuels.
But even closer to home, there’s one other option that may just end up being the best one.
In July 2021, De Havilland Canada and Pratt and Whitney Canada announced that they would
be working together to integrate hybrid-electric propulsion technology into a Dash 8-100 flight demonstrator.
This would allow for a 30% reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions, and the technology
is anticipated to be scalable for larger Dash 8 models.
With the amount of existing Dash 8 operators across the country and the availability of
parts, a new-build hybrid Dash 8 series may be just the thing to provide cost savings
and restore connectivity.
Now, all of that being said, it’s easy to just list a bunch of potential replacements,
but there’s one other thing to consider.
For many of these smaller carriers, ordering a fleet of any brand new airplanes could be
prohibitively expensive.
Even for Air Canada, these lower-performing regional routes may be the least of their
concerns, until a few years down the line.
As long as there’s an extensive inventory of Beech 1900s, Dash 8s, and spare parts for
them, keeping and maintaining these older aircraft may be the most cost-effective option
for smaller operators.
As for Air Canada Express?
Well, the retirement of their Dash 8-300s will signal the end of an era, but in the
long term, it may be the catalyst to finding a better solution
for serving Canada’s remote communities.
Thank you so much for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one!