Good evening from Timmins, Ontario! My name is Alex, and today’s a bit of a bittersweet day.
I’ve made my way here to Northern Ontario to fly
on board the very last scheduled Dash 8-300 flight with Air Canada Express.
The Dash 8-300 is a 50-seater turboprop airliner built by De Havilland Canada
and first entered service in 1989.
Since then, it’s flown for various Canadian regional airlines such as Time Air,
Air Ontario, Air Nova, and Air BC all of which eventually combined together became Jazz Aviation.
For these airlines, the Dash 8-100 and -300 models,
also known as the “Classic Dash”, were the backbones of their fleet,
connecting smaller Canadian cities and towns across the country to larger hubs.
With the swift and quiet retirement of the smaller Dash 8-100s back in 2020, the Dash 8-300s were
the last Classic Dashes flying on behalf of Air Canada. When I got word that the Classic Dashes
would no longer be flying after January 9th, 2022, I knew I had to be on that final flight.
Classic Dash flying has slowly been drawing down over the past few months, with the
last day of operations being out of Toronto and Montreal only. The last Dash 8 arrival that I
could see on Air Canada’s site was flight 8436 from Timmins to Toronto. So I found my way up to
Timmins, and after a few freezing cold days of spotting more Dash 8s, it’s time to head home.
Prior to 2020, Timmins Victor M. Power Airport served roughly 200,000
passengers a year, with most of those being flights to Toronto.
The airport has four airlines with regular service - Porter,
Air Canada, Air Creebec, and Thunder Airlines.
The terminal itself is pretty typical of most smaller Canadian airports, and behind security,
the waiting area has just enough room for… you guessed, a Dash 8-sized number of passengers!
The Dash 8-300 operating this final passenger flight is a very appropriate one.
Charlie Golf Kilo Tango Alpha was the first production model
Dash 8-300, and the very first -300 ever delivered to an airline!
At the time, Kilo Tango Alpha was just shy of 33 years old, having been delivered in February
1989 to Time Air. Time Air eventually became part of Canadian Regional Airlines, which became Air
Canada Regional, which then evolved into the Air Canada Express with flights operated by Jazz as
we know it today. This airplane has stayed in the country with all of these operators for its entire
life, and so it’s extremely fitting that it’s the one operating this final passenger flight.
Kilo Tango Alpha, along with a few other Dash 8s built around this era,
also has a very interesting bit of history involving our neighbours directly to the south,
and I’ll talk about that more once we’re in the air.
In the meantime, let’s go be a part of history!
For today’s flight, I picked seat 1A, right at the very front of the cabin.
1A has some great extra legroom, and this fantastic view of the propeller!
Seeing as this was entirely a night flight,
I knew I had to sit up front for the best sound and the extra lighting on the props.
In the bulkhead is a literature pocket,
and two cup holders since this front row doesn’t actually have tray tables.
Once everyone boarded and the door closed,
our captain came on the PA with a very well said piece about the Dash 8.
Good evening folks, this is your captain speaking. My name is Scott Barager,
I’m flying with first officer Jacob Burns, and your in-charge today is Michelle.
I’d just like to take a couple of minutes
to talk about the airplane you’re flying on today, if you don’t mind.
You’re flying on a De Havilland Dash 8-300, this is one of the original Dash 8s. The
people that fix them and fly them regularly refer to them as a “Classic Dash 8”.
This airplane’s also a machine that airplanes that Canadians should be proud of, it was
made right here in Canada, in Downsview, Ontario, by the same people that designed and
built the legendary airplanes like the Beaver and the Otter.
The Dash 8 Classic is well-known for being a very reliable and rugged airplane.
It’s able to fly in weather and land at airports that other airplanes cannot do.
On a personal note, I’ve been flying this plane now for over 33 years.
I’ve enjoyed every single minute of it. In fact,
I actually met my wife on this airplane, so it holds a special place in my heart.
The reason I’m telling you all this is,
unfortunately, Air Canada Jazz is retiring this airplane.
After 35 years of flying up to the cold of Yellowknife, the narrow mountain valleys of
Castlegar, the wind and fog of St. John’s, and even the beaches of Trinidad and Tobago.
And this is actually the very last scheduled passenger flight that Air Canada Jazz is going
to operate with a Classic Dash 8. And you’re going to be playing a little part in aviation history
of being the last passengers of millions
that Air Canada Jazz has safely transported on this aircraft.
So when we get to Toronto, maybe you’ll want to take a few pictures, maybe even give the airplane
a quick little pat on the nose and thank it for a job well done. I know I’m going to.
With that very moving speech, here’s our departure from Timmins,
starting up and taking off from runway 21.
After that amazing sounding takeoff and view of the city,
I’ll elaborate on that bit of history I mentioned earlier.
So back in the 1980s, Air Canada was in the process of replacing its Boeing 727
and Douglas DC-9 fleet with a newer aircraft type. In the running was Airbus’ A320 and Boeing’s 737.
Around the same time, De Havilland Canada was coming out with the Dash 8-300,
although the company was in a bit of financial trouble.
In order to sweeten their deal somewhat, Boeing bought De Havilland Canada,
and the newly-introduced Dash 8-300 was for a time, marketed as a Boeing product.
Air Canada went with Airbus for their fleet renewal,
which resulted in Boeing putting De Havilland Canada up for sale,
at which point Bombardier got involved and purchased the company in the early 90s.
To this day, the Dash 8s built around this time, including Kilo Tango Alpha,
all have identification plates saying “Boeing of Canada - De Havilland Division”.
And I think that’s just such a fascinating bit of Canadian aviation history,
and it makes flying on this specific plane all the more special.
Given the history and significance of this very airplane, the Time Air Historical Society is
hoping to bring it home to Lethbridge, Alberta, where its story first started.
KTA is one of several Dash 8-300s that’s undergone a life extension program
and will likely be flying cargo for a while longer. When the time comes though,
I sincerely hope this important piece of Canadian aviation history will be preserved.
Pretty soon into the flight,
our absolutely wonderful cabin crew member gave out some snacks and drinks.
In the seatback pocket was the usual air sickness bag and the
now collectors-item safety card for the Dash 8-300.
Also handed out during boarding was Air Canada’s CleanCare Kit,
and inside is just an extra mask, wipes, and hand sanitizer.
Air Canada Express’ Dash 8-300s seated 50 passengers in an all-economy configuration.
That said, some of them had slightly different layouts, with a galley in the front like this one,
while others had a galley in the back, and two rear-facing seats in the front instead.
Given that the view outside was pitch black for most of the flight,
I turned my attention to the rest of the cabin, and it really got me thinking.
Over 30 years, just how many people have sat here looking at this bulkhead,
pulled an in-flight magazine out of here, or slightly scuffed up the bottom with their shoes?
And that’s the thing about this airplane. While some will no doubt not miss the smaller overhead
bins and the noisier cabin, in many ways, so many Canadian lives have been affected by the Dash 8.
Whether you’re someone in a small town going for your first commercial flight,
or someone taking a short connection to visit loved ones, or just commuting, the impact that the
Dash 8 has had on Canadian society is something that I think few airplane types can compare to.
There are plenty of Classic Dashes still flying with other operators,
but I know I’ll miss seeing these in Air Canada colours.
As the lights of Toronto came into view, this era came to a close,
with this flawless crosswind landing on runway 24R.
Well, that’s 30 years of history that just came to a close.
It’s certainly a strange feeling knowing that you’re one of the very last passengers to fly
on this airplane, but it was an honour to be a small part of Canadian aviation history.
After all the regular passengers had left, a few of us who had taken the flight on
purpose were able to stick around, with thanks to the crew and everyone at Jazz
for allowing us some precious few extra minutes with the airplane.
With one last look outside and plenty of pictures,
it was time to say goodbye and catch my next flight home.
So long, Dash 8 Classic, and thank you for watching.