Misplaced Pages

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97-536: QantasLink is a full-service, regional brand of Australian flag carrier Qantas and is an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance . As of 2024, QantasLink provides over 2,000 flights each week to 65 metropolitan, regional and remote destinations across Australia, as well as short-haul international services to Singapore, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and East Timor. Flights are operated by

194-626: A -102, was built in 2005. In April 2008, Bombardier announced that production of the remaining classic versions (Series Q200 and Q300) would be ended, leaving the Series Q400 as the only Dash 8 still in production. Production of the Q200 and Q300 was to cease in May 2009. A total of 672 Dash 8 classics were produced; the last one was delivered to Japan Coast Guard in August 2008. Continuing on with

291-456: A 1983 article about PBA, Provincetown-Boston Airlines , both Air New England and Air Florida are described as regional airlines. At the time, Air New England was a recently-failed turboprop operator in the northeast USA, while Air Florida was a jet carrier flying from Florida to the northeast, to Latin America and Europe. The two airlines had little in common. As flag carriers grew to fill

388-428: A C-check. By August 2018, the 90-seat variant was certified before delivery to launch customer SpiceJet later in the same year. In March 2021, EASA certified the 90-seat variant for European operations; DHC believed that there were opportunities with prospective European customers as of 2021 . On November 8, 2018, Canadian company Longview Aviation Capital Corporation, through its subsidiary Viking Air , acquired

485-658: A dispatch reliability over 99.5%. By July 2018, 844 Dash 8s were in airline service: 143 Series 100 with 35 operators, 42 Series 200 with 16 operators, 151 Series 300 with 32 operators and 508 Q400s. By then, 56 orders were in backlog. The DHC-8 has been involved in 80 aviation accidents and incidents including 31 hull losses . Those resulted in 180 fatalities. In September 2007, two separate accidents of similar landing gear failures occurred within four days of each other on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) Dash 8-Q400 aircraft. A third accident occurred in October 2007, leading to

582-488: A few hours later, Bombardier recommended that all Q400s with more than 10,000 flights be grounded until further notice. This affected about 60 aircraft, out of 140 Q400s then in service. On October 27, 2007, Scandinavian Airlines Flight 2867 en route from Bergen to Copenhagen had severe problems with the landing gear during landing in Kastrup Airport. The right wing gear did not deploy properly (or partially), and

679-424: A form of a virtual airline , with the regional airline paid to staff, operate and maintain aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by a partner mainline airline. This practice allows the mainline carrier to use outsourced labor at smaller stations, to reduce costs. In 2011, 61% of all advertised flights for American, Delta, United and US Airways were operated by their regional brands. This figure

776-466: A fully fledged international airline, but could operate international routes in the future". On 18 December 2014, QantasLink announced that it would add Whyalla , South Australia, to its network, with double daily flights to commence on 13 April 2015. The route is serviced by the 50-seat Q300. In July 2015, Network Aviation was absorbed into the Qantas Link brand. In November 2014, QantasLink became

873-571: A high-density, 90-seat layout of the Q400, which would enter service in 2018; keeping the 28 in (71 cm) seat pitch of the Nok Air 86-seats, an extra row of seats is allowed by changing the configuration of the front right door and moving back the aft pressure bulkhead . The payload is increased by 2,000 pounds (910 kg) and the aircraft maintenance check intervals are increased: 800 hours from 600 for an A-check and 8,000 hours from 6,000 for

970-531: A larger carrier, similar to their American counterparts. Some of these airlines and brands include: The trend of branding regional airlines to match the mainline airlines, has led to just three major sub-brands in the United States: American Eagle , Delta Connection and United Express . They are the post-deregulation survivors of the multiple bankruptcies and mergers of the major, legacy, mainline airlines. These regional brands are

1067-521: A mainline or flagship airline's aircraft, while in actuality they are far from it. Sub-branding is pretty consistent throughout the airline industry of the United States, with all the regional airlines, mainline airlines, and the regional airline holding companies, as well as the mainline airlines holding companies participating. On Feb 12th, 2010, a year after the crash of Colgan flight 3407 , Frontline premiered its WGA Award-winning exposé on

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1164-552: A market DHC felt would be compelling. However, only a handful of air carriers employed the Dash 7, as most regional airlines were more concerned about the operational costs (fuel and maintenance) of four engines, rather than the benefits of short-field performance. In 1980, de Havilland responded by dropping the short-field performance requirement and adapting the basic Dash 7 layout to use only two, more powerful engines. Its favoured engine supplier, Pratt & Whitney Canada , developed

1261-457: A maximum capacity of 39, the Series 200 has the same capacity but offers more powerful engines, the Series 300 is a stretched, 50-seat version, and the Series 400 is further stretched to a maximum of 90 passengers. Models delivered after 1997 have cabin noise suppression and are designated with the prefix "Q". Production of the Series 100 ceased in 2005, followed by the 200 and 300 in 2009, leaving

1358-455: A new factory refurbishment programme. In the 1970s, de Havilland Canada had invested heavily in its Dash 7 project, concentrating on STOL and short-field performance, the company's traditional area of expertise. Using four medium-power engines with large, four-bladed propellers resulted in comparatively lower noise levels, which combined with its excellent STOL characteristics, made the Dash 7 suitable for operating from small in-city airports,

1455-527: A new vision for regional mobility, based on services built out of small general aviation aircraft and VLJs (very light jets) with advanced automation. This vision failed to materialize due to its primary focus on rural mobility and a lack of clear and viable business case. With the introduction of air taxi services and very light jets , city pair links to smaller communities lacking regional connections could become more common. This opportunities could become commercially viable with advanced air mobility and

1552-446: A partnership for the operation of Lord Howe Island flights. This would see Qantaslink's three De Haviland Canada Dash 8-200 acquired by Skytrans for them to carry out these operations from February 2026. These flights will be code-shared by Qantas, with the flights to operate out of Qantas Terminal 3 at Sydney Airport. QantasLink previously operated the following types: 1. ^ QantasLink flights operated by National Jet Systems use

1649-569: A property transaction made by Bombardier before the 2019 sale to DHC, DHC had to vacate its Downsview , Toronto, manufacturing facility in August 2022, and as of August 2023 is planning to restart Dash 8 production in Wheatland County, Alberta , by 2033. At the July 2024 Farnborough International Air Show , DHC announced orders for seven Series 400 aircraft, an order for a newly introduced quick-change combi aircraft conversion kit, and

1746-537: A short while, QantasLink took over some of Qantas' non-trunk routes, such as Sydney – Sunshine Coast , using Boeing 717s that were inherited after Qantas acquired Impulse Airlines . QantasLink ceased operating some of these routes after Qantas formed low-cost subsidiary Jetstar Airways , transferring the Boeing 717 aircraft and routes to the new airline. In 2005/06, eight of the 717s were returned to QantasLink following Jetstar's acquisition of Airbus A320 aircraft, with

1843-408: A strong entrepreneurial sector of independents. They are based on business models ranging from the traditional full service airline to low cost carriers . Innovations include one where the passenger is required to join a membership club before being allowed to fly. Some examples of European regional airlines include: India has many regional carriers operating currently. Some of these operate under

1940-429: Is 80,000 flight cycles. Under an extended service program launched in 2017, the service life of Dash 8-300 is extended by 50 percent, or approximately 15 years, to 120,000 flight cycles. The Series 400 introduced an even longer airframe that was stretched 6.83 metres (22.4 ft) over the Series 300 (10.26 metres (33.7 ft) over the Series 100/200), had slightly more wing span due to a larger wing section inboard of

2037-673: Is common in the U.S. to incorrectly associate aircraft size with the Department of Transportation's designation of major, national, and regional airline. The only corollary is the Regional Airline Association, an industry trade group, defines "regional airlines" generally as "...operat(ing) short and medium haul scheduled airline service connecting smaller communities with larger cities and connecting hubs. The airlines' fleet primarily consists of 19 to 68 seat turboprops and 30 to 100 seat regional jets." To be clear there

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2134-500: Is fully owned by American Airlines Group and does business as American Eagle . Many of these large regional airlines have joined the lobbying group Regional Airline Association . This association lobbies purely for the financial interest of the corporate bodies it constitutes, not the employees of those airlines. In Canada there are a number of regional airlines. Some of them focus on Canadian Arctic and First Nations communities, while others operate regional flights on behalf of

2231-428: Is no distinction in the Department of Transportation definition of major, national and regional airlines by aircraft size. The definition is based on revenue. The clash of definitions has led to confusion in the media and the public. Beginning around 1985, a number of trends have become apparent. Regional aircraft are getting larger, faster, and are flying longer ranges. Additionally, the vast majority of regionals within

2328-441: Is offered, which increases maximum operating altitude to 27,000 ft (8,200 m). Between its service entry in 2000 and the 2018 sale to Longview/Viking, 585 had been delivered at a rate of 30-35 per year, leaving a backlog of 65 at the time of the 2018 sale. In 2017, its unit cost was US$ 32.2 million. By 2017, the Q400 aircraft had logged 7 million flight hours with 60 operators and transported over 400 million passengers with

2425-687: The Civil Aeronautics Board from 1943 to 1950 include: A history and study of regional airlines was published by the Smithsonian Institution Press in 1994 under the title Commuter Airlines of the United States , by R.E.G. Davies and I. E. Quastler . Since the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, the US federal government has continued support of the regional airline sector to ensure many of

2522-581: The Tanzania Government Flight Agency . The company also announced the launch of a factory refurbishment programme, for which 28 aircraft had been purchased, along with new freighter and combi aircraft conversion kits; one of the latter had been ordered by Advantage Air, DHC said. In December 2021, DHC entered into a partnership with ZeroAvia with a view to offering the ZA-2000 hydrogen-electric propulsion as an option for

2619-410: The aircraft livery for the company they are operating flights for. These airlines can be subsidiaries of the major airline or fly under a code sharing agreement or operating through capacity purchase agreements, with the mainline parent company financing the aircraft for the regional airline, and then placing the aircraft with the regional for very little cost. An example would be Envoy Air , which

2716-425: The 19 passenger Embraer/FMA CBA 123 Vector and the 34 seat Dornier 328 were undertaken, but met little financial success, partly due to economic downturn in the airline industry resulting from the outbreak of hostilities when Iraq invaded Kuwait . Many of the regional airlines operating turboprop equipment such as Delta 's regional sister Comair airlines in the United States set the course for bypassing entirely

2813-444: The 1929 launch of Transcontinental Air Transport (T-A-T) in the United States. T-A-T's transcontinental "Lindbergh Line" became America's first contiguous coast-to-coast air service, and it ushered in a new era of major airlines expanding to operate networks with large footprints. The development of long-range aircraft operated by flag carriers like British Overseas Airways Corporation and Trans-Canada Airlines further normalized

2910-697: The 2,200 ft (670 m) required by a fully laden Dash 7. The introduction of the regional jet altered the sales picture. Although more expensive than turboprops, regional jets allow airlines to operate passenger services on routes not suitable for turboprops. Turboprop aircraft have lower fuel consumption and can operate from shorter runways than regional jets, but have higher engine maintenance costs, shorter ranges, and slower cruising speeds. When world oil prices drove up short-haul airfares in 2006, an increasing number of airlines that had bought regional jets began to reassess turboprop regional airliners, which use about 30–60% less fuel than regional jets. Although

3007-495: The 2019 sale to DHC, DHC decommissioned its Downsview , Toronto, manufacturing facility in August 2022, and in 2023 confirmed its plans to restart Dash 8 production in Wheatland County, Alberta , outside of Calgary, by 2033. At the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2024, DHC announced orders for seven Series 400 aircraft, including one for Skyward Express , two for Widerøe , and one for

QantasLink - Misplaced Pages Continue

3104-542: The 717s to be operated in Western Australia, Northern Territory and far north Queensland by National Jet Systems . On 31 July 2015, Network Aviation was rebranded to QantasLink. This was announced by Qantas with the unveiling of a Fokker 100 in QantasLink colours. In January 2018, Network Aviation confirmed it would transfer two Airbus A320s from Jetstar Airways for flights to and from Perth as part of

3201-517: The A220-300 aircraft, taking the total number of A220-300s on firm order to 29, which will begin arriving from late 2023 to 2027. In February 2023, Qantas announced an order for 5 mid-life Airbus A319s aircraft to increase short term capacity and support the growth of the resource sector in Western Australia for delivery from 2024. Qantas announced in February 2024, following a strong performance in

3298-480: The Boeing 717 crew and fleet in-house. In August 2020, National Jet systems closed the Perth and Cairns bases of their operation, with Western Australian operations to be taken over by Network Aviation. In December 2021, Qantas announced an initial order for 20 Airbus A220-300 with additional purchase options to replace its Boeing 717. On the 29th of June, Qantas announced it was exercising 9 purchase right options for

3395-466: The DHC-8, as a line-fit option for new aircraft and as an approved retrofit for existing aircraft. In May 2023, ZeroAvia unveiled a DHC-8 Q400 donated by Alaska Airlines for use as a testbed aircraft. Distinguishing features of the Dash 8 design are the large T-tail intended to keep the tail free of prop wash during takeoff, a very high aspect ratio wing, the elongated engine nacelles also holding

3492-561: The Q400 as the only series still in production. The Series 100 was the original 37-39 passenger version of the Dash 8 that entered service in 1984. The original engine was the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW120 and later units used the PW121. Rated engine power is 1,800 shp (1,340 kW). The Series 200 aircraft maintained the same 37–39 passenger airframe as the original Series 100, but was re-engined for improved performance. The Series 200 used

3589-521: The Q400's centre fuselage. The Q400 components are chemically milled while older variants are assembled from bonded panels and skins. The production of the Dash 8 Series 100 stopped in 2005, and that of the Series 200 and 300 in 2009. Bombardier proposed the development of a Q400 stretch with two plug-in segments, called the Q400X project, in 2007. It would compete in the 90-seat market range. In response to this project, as of November 2007 , ATR

3686-613: The Q400, the 1,000th Dash 8 was delivered in November 2010. Bombardier aimed to produce the Q400 more economically. A deal with its machinists union in June 2017 allowed the assembly of the wings and cockpit section outside Canada and searches for potential partners commenced. Bombardier expected to produce the cockpit section in its plant in Queretaro, Mexico , outsourcing the wings to China's Shenyang Aircraft Corp , which already builds

3783-588: The Qantas owned subsidiaries of Eastern Australia Airlines , National Jet Systems , Network Aviation and Sunstate Airlines , with E190s wet-leased from Alliance Airlines . QantasLink's origins as a single brand for Qantas' regional airline subsidiaries go back to October 1993, when Qantas acquired Australian Airlink Pty Ltd and its fleet from parent company National Jet Systems , which up to that point had been operating flights on major regional routes for Australian Airlines . The Australian Airlink name remained and

3880-485: The QantasLink brand. Network Aviation has steadily increased its use of ex-Jetstar Airbus A320s with a current fleet of 15. On 20 May 2020, Qantas announced the purchase of Cobham Australia's National Jet Systems subsidiary which had operated the Boeing 717-200 on behalf of QantasLink for 15 years, bringing both employees and the fleet in-house. On 4 February 2021, Qantas announced an initial 3 year deal with Alliance Airlines that they will be leasing 3 Embraer E190 with

3977-539: The QantasLink brand. The hubs for QantasLink under the contract are in Perth , Cairns , Brisbane , Sydney , Canberra , and Hobart . Qantas replaced its daily Melbourne- Launceston mainline service with a three times daily QantasLink Dash 8 service from 1 August 2006. This has now been increased to a four times daily service, supplemented in peak service periods by QantasLink 717 services. In May 2008, QantasLink announced that it would order nine 717s. Tamworth would be

QantasLink - Misplaced Pages Continue

4074-606: The United States with more than ten aircraft within their fleet, have lost their individual identities and now serve only as feeders, to Alaska Airlines , American Airlines , Delta Air Lines , or United Airlines major hubs. Regional aircraft in the US have been getting slightly more comfortable with the addition of better ergonomically designed aircraft cabins , and the addition of varying travel classes aboard these aircraft. From small, less than 50-seat "single-class cabin" turboprop , to turbofan regional jet equipment, present day regional airlines provide aircraft such as

4171-429: The United States, are: Mainline carrier-owned Independent contractors The evolution and chronological history of the commuter side of the regional airline industry can be defined by a number of dates prior to the end of the era of airline regulation by the Civil Aeronautics Board of the United States. Among these significant dates are: List of Commuter Airlines in 1977 Prior to Airline Deregulation: Some of

4268-495: The aircraft skidded off the runway in a controlled emergency landing. The Q400 was carrying 38 passengers, two infants, and four crew members on board. No injuries were reported. The next day, SAS permanently removed its entire Dash 8 Q400 fleet from service. In a press release on October 28, 2007, the company's president said: "Confidence in the Q400 has diminished considerably and our customers are becoming increasingly doubtful about flying in this type of aircraft. Accordingly, with

4365-404: The airline hub. Initially these tie ups tended to use small 15 -19 seat aircraft, which did not have a reputation of passenger comfort, or safe reliable operations, by small often under capitalized tiny airline operators. To create a common tie and what appeared to be seamless to the air traveler, major carriers marketed in advertising and soon had much smaller airlines paint their small and what

4462-598: The airline is the only reasonable link to a larger town. Examples of this are PenAir , which links the remote Aleutian Islands to Anchorage, Alaska , and Mokulele Airlines , which operates in the Hawaiian islands. As an affiliated airline , contracting with a major airline , operating under their brand name (for example, Endeavor Air operates flights under the Delta Connection brand name for Delta Air Lines ), and filling two roles: delivering passengers to

4559-671: The cabin, and the right engine caught fire. Of 69 passengers and four crew on board, 11 were sent to hospital, five with minor injuries. The accident was filmed by a local news channel (TV2-Nord) and broadcast live on national television. Three days later, on September 12, Scandinavian Airlines Flight 2748 from Copenhagen to Palanga had a similar problem with the landing gear, forcing the aircraft to land in Vilnius International Airport ( Lithuania ). No passengers or crew were injured. Immediately after this accident SAS grounded all 33 Q400 airliners in its fleet and,

4656-598: The call-sign "Q-JET", with the ICAO code QJE. All flights continue to operate under the IATA code QF. [REDACTED] Media related to QantasLink at Wikimedia Commons Regional airline Decades before the advent of jet airliners and high-speed, long-range air service, commercial aviation was structured similarly to rail transport networks. In this era, technological limitations on air navigation and propeller-driven aircraft performance imposed strict constraints on

4753-437: The capability of "far and wide" air travel among the traveling public. "Regional airline" is a flexible term whose meaning has changed substantially over time. What it means today is different than how it has been used in the past. For instance, in the United States, around 1960, the term “regional carrier” denoted the smaller eight of the 12 largest carriers, then known as trunk carriers (or trunk airlines or simply trunks). At

4850-510: The contract. It was eventually won by Airbus, which received an order for 34 A320 aircraft. Allegations of secret commissions paid to Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney are today known as the Airbus affair . Following its failure in the competition, Boeing immediately put de Havilland Canada up for sale. The company was eventually purchased by Bombardier in 1992. The market for new aircraft to replace existing turboprops once again grew in

4947-534: The demand of long-range passenger traffic, new and small airlines found niches flying between short and under-served routes to-and-from major airports and more rural destinations. Through the 1960s and 1970s, war surplus designs (notably, the Douglas DC-3 ) were replaced by higher-performance turboprop or jet -powered designs like the Fokker F27 Friendship and BAC One-Eleven . This extended

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5044-599: The end of June 2006, however QantasLink announced a resumption of Melbourne to Kangaroo Island from December 2017 alongside opening up Adelaide to Kangaroo Island flights. On 8 December 2009, QantasLink announced that it would re-enter the Adelaide to Port Lincoln market from February 2010, using Q400 aircraft flying 23 return services a week. From 2005, QantasLink 717 services in Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania were contracted to National Jet Systems, using

5141-431: The engines, a stouter T-tail and had a passenger capacity of 68–90. The Series 400 uses Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A engines rated at 4,850 shp (3,620 kW). The aircraft has a cruise speed of 360 knots (667 km/h), which is 60–90 knots (111–166 km/h) higher than its predecessors. The maximum operating altitude is 25,000 ft (7,600 m) for the standard version, although a version with drop-down oxygen masks

5238-441: The entire Dash 8 program and the de Havilland brand from Bombardier, in a deal that would close by the second half of 2019. Viking had already acquired the discontinued de Havilland Canada aircraft model type certificates in 2006. By November 2018, the sales of the higher-performance Q400 were slower than the cheaper aircraft from ATR . Bombardier announced the sale was for $ 300 million and expected $ 250 million net. The sale

5335-499: The factory lease expired in 2023. On February 17, 2021, DHC announced a pause in production, planned for the second half of 2021, due to a lack of Dash 8 orders from airlines. The manufacturer planned to vacate its Downsview Toronto facility and lay off 500 employees in the process. The lay-off notice resulted in Unifor , the union representing the workers, demanding a government bail-out. The company planned to restart production after

5432-526: The first New South Wales regional airport to be serviced by the Q400, commencing in mid-August 2008. On 29 March 2010, QantasLink and the Qantas Group announced that it would start the first international QantasLink route, from Cairns to Port Moresby , utilising Q400 aircraft already based in Cairns. The service commenced in July 2010. A QantasLink spokesperson stated that "the airline would not turn into

5529-582: The first airline to fly to the newly opened Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport, establishing direct Q400 services to Sydney. In February 2016 as a result of strong demand, QantasLink increased weekly services by two flights to fifteen weekly returns. In July 2016, Alliance Airlines delivered the first of three additional Fokker 100s, with two more delivered by the end of the year. In July 2018, Network aviation acquired two Airbus A320s from Jetstar (Another Qantas Group Subsidiary) for use within Western Australia. In May 2020, Qantas bought National Jet Systems and brought

5626-612: The fleet was repainted in Qantas livery, and National Jet Systems was subsequently contracted by Qantas to operate Australian Airlink aircraft. Prior to 2002, Qantas' various subsidiaries operated under their own names, eventually adopting the Australian Airlines, and later, Qantas liveries. In 2002 a common brand was created, encompassing AirLink (a franchise, operated by National Jet Systems), Sunstate Airlines , Eastern Australia Airlines , and Southern Australia Airlines ; Southern Australia has since ceased operations. For

5723-530: The flight met with a fan-fair for both customers, media and crew after 20 years of the aircraft operating for the Qantas Group in Australia. However due to a shortage of aircraft around the network, the last 717, VH-YQW, got an unexpected re-activation. The aircraft flew between Perth and Paraburdoo from the 6th to the 26th of November, before returning to Sydney to continue to operate to regional destinations. On 28 October 2024, Qantaslink and Skytrans announced

5820-832: The following aircraft: QantasLink increased capacity by replacing many of its smaller Dash 8-100 and Q200 aircraft with Q400s . QantasLink pursued this deal despite landing gear problems with Q400 aircraft by some airlines. This problem also saw a grounding of the Q400s by QantasLink, though all were deemed safe and returned to service. As part of its further expansion, QantasLink entered the South Australian market in December 2005, with flights from Adelaide to Port Lincoln and Kangaroo Island . Interstate flights were also introduced between Kangaroo Island and Melbourne . Due to low passenger loads, these services ceased operation at

5917-553: The government's UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme) . Note:- Alliance Air is still a state-owned airline, whereas Air India is private. Australia has an association for regional airline, the Regional Aviation of Australia. More than 2 million passengers and 23 million kg of cargo are involved each year. Post airline deregulation, airlines sought added market share and to do this they sought partnerships with regional and small airlines to feed traffic into

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6014-458: The group – Eastern Australia Airlines, National Jet Systems, Network Aviation and Sunstate Airlines. All flights use QF IATA codes. Turboprop aircraft operate under the ICAO callsign QLK ("Q-LINK"). Until 5 January 2009, Eastern and Sunstate operated under their own callsigns. Network Aviation aircraft operate under their own callsign NWK ("NETLINK"). As of November 2024, QantasLink operates

6111-441: The group. Vanessa Hudson, Qantas Group CEO, added how the new mid-life aircraft will "provide certainty to the regions over the next decade while we work with aircraft manufacturers and other suppliers on electric or battery powered aircraft that are the right size and range for our network.” In October 2024, Qantaslink planned the last commercial flight for the Boeing 717 on the 26th of October from Sydney to Canberra as QF1511, with

6208-416: The higher capacity CRJ700 , CRJ900 , CRJ1000 series of aircraft and the somewhat larger fuselage Embraer E-Jets . Some of these newer aircraft are capable of flying longer distances with comfort levels that rival and surpass the regional airline equipment of the past. In the early 1990s, much more advanced turboprop-powered, fuel efficient, and passenger friendly DC-3 type replacement projects such as

6305-532: The industry entitled "Flying Cheap". In the program, reporter Miles O'Brien questioned how the impact of low salaries are having on pilot psyches and how safe this could be for the flying public. When asked to respond to the question, Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Association, told Frontline that, "...there are many other people who earn less money than that and work more days in these communities that can afford it and do it and do it responsibly." The Small Aircraft Transportation System outlined

6402-461: The introduction of electric aircraft. In some parts of the world, regional airlines face competition from high-speed rail and also coach (bus) services with airlines sometimes replacing feeder services through air rail alliances and contracts with bus companies (e.g., Landline between Philadelphia International Airport and Atlantic City International Airport ). In North America , regional airlines are operated primarily to bring passengers to

6499-635: The lesser known smaller brands used by the regional airlines and their parent companies were: European regional airlines serve the intra-continental sector in Europe . They connect cities to major airports and to other cities, avoiding the need for passengers to make transfers. For example, BA CityFlyer a regional subsidiary of British Airways uses the basic Chatham Dockyard Union Flag livery of its parent company and flies between domestic and European cities. Some of Europe's regional airlines are subsidiaries of national air carriers, though there remains

6596-679: The livery of Air France . NLM 's KLM style branding does however pre-date the Air France efforts though by a number of years. The success of the "rebranding" or "pseudo branding" of a much smaller airline into the name recognition of a much larger one soon became clear as passenger numbers soared at Air Alpes, and it was soon decided to paint other aircraft such as the Fokker F-27 into full Air France colours as well. Many airline passengers find sub-branding very confusing, while many other airline passengers are content to think they are on

6693-680: The mainline airline's sub-brand livery. For example, United Express regional airline partner CommutAir branded its entire fleet as United Express. On the other hand, regional airline Gulfstream International Airlines did not brand their aircraft. When Colgan Air was still operating, they branded a handful of aircraft as Colgan Air, but most were branded as Continental Connection , US Airways Express or United Express , with whom it had contractual agreements. 21st century regional airlines are commonly organized in one of two ways. Operating as an independent airline under their own brand, mostly providing service to small and isolated towns, for whom

6790-410: The mainline airlines, in terms of revenue, many would be designated major airline carrier status based on the only actual definition of "major airline," in the United States, the definition from the U.S. Department of Transportation. This definition is based solely on annual revenue and not on any other criterion such as average aircraft seating capacity, pilot pay, or number of aircraft in the fleet. It

6887-439: The major airline's hubs from surrounding towns, and increasing frequency of service on mainline routes during times when demand does not warrant use of large aircraft, known as commuter flights . One of the first independently owned and managed airlines in the world that rebranded its aircraft to match a larger airline's brand was Air Alpes of France. During 1974, Air Alpes painted its newly delivered short range regional jets in

6984-582: The major airlines. De Havilland Canada Dash 8#Series 400 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8 , commonly known as the Dash 8 , is a series of turboprop -powered regional airliners , introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was bought by Boeing in 1986, then by Bombardier in 1992, then by Longview Aviation Capital in 2019; Longview revived the De Havilland Canada brand. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150s , it

7081-501: The major hubs, where they will connect for longer-distance flights on the national airlines also known as flagship carriers . The smallest regional carriers have become known as feeder airlines. The separate corporate structure allows the company to operate under different pay schedules, typically paying much less than their mainline owners. Many large North American airlines, have established operational relationships with one or more regional airline companies. Their aircraft often use

7178-550: The market was not as robust as in the 1980s when the first Dash 8s were introduced, 2007 had increased sales of the only two 40+ seat regional turboprops still in western production, Bombardier's Q400 and its competitor, the ATR series of 50– to 70-seat turboprops. The Q400 has a cruising speed close to that of most regional jets, and its mature engines and systems require less frequent maintenance, reducing its disadvantage. The aircraft has been delivered in four series. The Series 100 has

7275-517: The mid-1990s, and DHC responded with the improved "Series 400" design. All Dash 8s delivered from the second quarter of 1996 (including all Series 400s) include the Active Noise and Vibration System designed to reduce cabin noise and vibration levels to nearly those of jet airliners. To emphasize their quietness, Bombardier renamed the go-forward production of Dash 8 models as the "Q"-Series turboprops (Q200, Q300, and Q400). The last Dash 8-100,

7372-524: The more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123 engines rated at 2,150 shp (1,600 kW). In 2000, its unit cost was US$ 12 million. The Series 300 introduced a longer airframe that was stretched 3.43 metres (11.3 ft) over the Series 100/200 and has a passenger capacity of 50–56. The Series 300 also used the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123 engines. Rated engine power is between 2,380 shp (1,774 kW) and 2,500 shp (1,864 kW). Design service life

7469-630: The new PW100 series engines for the role, more than doubling the power from its PT6 . Originally designated the PT7A-2R engine, it later became the PW120. When the Dash 8 rolled out on April 19, 1983, more than 3,800 hours of testing had been accumulated over two years on five PW100 series test engines. The Dash 8 first flight was on June 20, 1983. Certification of the PW120 followed on December 16, 1983. The airliner entered service in 1984 with NorOntair , and Piedmont Airlines , formerly Henson Airlines,

7566-581: The newly formed De Havilland Canada (DHC) taking control of the Dash 8 program, including servicing the previous -100, -200, and -300 series. Production of the Q400 was planned to continue at the Downsview, Toronto production facility, under DHC's management. De Havilland was considering a 50-seat shrink, as North American airlines operate 870 ageing 50-seaters, mostly CRJs and Embraer ERJs . There were 17 Dash 8s scheduled for delivery in 2021, and De Havilland planned to pause production after those, while

7663-463: The option for up to 14 to operate on routes like Adelaide–Alice Springs, Darwin–Alice Springs, and Darwin–Adelaide. Qantas has steadily expanded upon its lease agreement and use of the aircraft, with the company currently agreed to operate 26 aircraft by April 2024, with 4 options remaining. QantasLink flights, except those flown by the Embraer 190s, are operated by the individual airlines that make up

7760-458: The pandemic at a new location. In July 2022, DHC announced that it would review the Dash 8 programme and supply chain later in the year, and could restart production in the middle of the decade if conditions allowed. The Calgary site, where the company produced DHC-6 Twin Otters , was originally envisioned as the venue for Dash 8 production. Per a property transaction made by Bombardier prior to

7857-403: The potential length of each flight; some routes covered less than 100 miles (160 km). As such, airlines structured their services along point-to-point routes with many stops between the originating and terminating air terminals. This system of air transportation effectively forced most airlines to be "regional" in nature, but the lack of distinction among carriers soon began to change with

7954-494: The range of the regionals dramatically, causing a wave of consolidations between the now overlapping airlines. In the United States, regional airlines were an important building block of today's passenger air system. The U.S. Government encouraged the forming of regional airlines to provide services from smaller communities to larger towns, where air passengers could connect to a larger network. The original regional airlines (then known as " Local service carriers ") sanctioned by

8051-516: The rearward-folding landing gear , and the pointed nose profile. The Dash 8 design has better cruise performance than the Dash 7, is less expensive to operate, and is much less expensive to maintain, due largely to having only two engines. It is a little noisier than the Dash 7 and cannot match the STOL performance of its earlier DHC forebears, although it is still able to operate from small airports with runways 3,000 ft (910 m) long, compared to

8148-904: The regional turboprops as they became the first to transition to an all-jet regional jet fleet. To a lesser extent in Europe and the United Kingdom this transition, to notably the Embraer or Canadair designs, was well advanced by the late 1990s. This evolution towards jet equipment, brought the independent regional airlines into direct competition with the major airlines, forcing additional consolidation. To improve on their market penetration, larger airline holding companies rely on operators of smaller aircraft to provide service or added frequency service to some airports. Such airlines, often operating in code-share arrangements with mainline airlines, often completely repaint [1] their aircraft fleet in

8245-498: The resources sector that 4 additional A319 aircraft had been purchased, bringing the total to 9. On 25 June 2024, Qantas announced an order for 14 mid-life Dash 8-400 (Q400) aircraft to begin phasing out the Q200 and Q300 aircraft. The first expected to arrive into the Qantaslink fleet from the end of 2024, bringing the Q400 fleet to 45, with a single aircraft type providing increased reliability and reducing complexity and cost for

8342-471: The smaller and more isolated rural communities remain connected to air services. This is encouraged with the Essential Air Service program that subsidizes airline service to smaller U.S. communities and suburban centers, aiming to maintain year-round service. Although regional airlines in the United States are often viewed as small, not particularly lucrative "no name" subsidiaries of

8439-478: The time the four biggest airlines in the United States were known as the Big Four, comprising American , United , TWA and Eastern Air Lines . The other eight trunk carriers were Braniff , Capital , Continental , Delta , National , Northeast , Northwest and Western . Since, at the time, none of these eight had a network approaching the scale of the Big Four, they were known as the regional carriers. This

8536-431: The withdrawal of the type from the airline's fleet. On September 9, 2007, the crew of SAS Flight 1209, en route from Copenhagen to Aalborg , reported problems with the locking mechanism of the right side landing gear, and Aalborg Airport was prepared for an emergency landing. Shortly after touchdown, the right main gear collapsed and the airliner skidded off the runway while fragments of the right propeller shot against

8633-409: Was despite the existence, at the time, of 13 smaller United States scheduled carriers known as local service carriers whose service was arguably far more regional than the “regional” trunks. So when reading historical sources, it’s important to understand that the term "regional airline" has migrated greatly over time. Sometimes the term has been stretched beyond the point of utility. For instance, in

8730-509: Was developed from the Dash 7 with improved cruise performance and lower operational costs, but without STOL performance. The Dash 8 was offered in four sizes: the initial Series 100 (1984–2005), the more powerful Series 200 (1995–2009) with 37–40 seats, the Series 300 (1989–2009) with 50–56 seats, and Series 400 (1999–2022) with 68–90 seats. The QSeries (Q for quiet) are post-1997 variants fitted with active noise control systems. Per

8827-401: Was often described as puddle-jumper aircraft, in the image and branding colors of the much larger mainline partner. This was to give the appearance of reliability. Over time these regional aircraft grew in size as airline hubs expanded and competition dwindled among the major carriers. Below is a list of many of the regional brands that evolved when regional airlines were advertised to look like

8924-592: Was only 40% in 2000. The formerly small regional airlines have grown substantially, through mergers or by the use of a holding company, as pioneered by AMR Corporation in 1982. AMR created the AMR Eagle Holding Corporation which unified its wholly owned American Eagle Airlines and Executive Airlines under one division, but still maintained the regional airlines' operating certificates and personnel separate from each other and American Airlines . The most significant regional airlines in

9021-462: Was projected by Bombardier to result in $ 250 million annual savings. In January 2019, Longview announced that it would establish a new company in Ontario, reviving the de Havilland Aircraft Company of Canada name, to continue production of the Q400 and support the Dash 8 range. By February, the program sale was expected to close at the end of September. On June 3, 2019, the sale was closed with

9118-417: Was still studying the issue, at least a three-year delay was envisioned. In October 2012, a joint development deal with a government-led South Korean consortium was revealed, to develop a 90-seater turboprop regional airliner, targeting a 2019 launch date. The consortium was to have included Korea Aerospace Industries and Korean Air Lines . At the February 2016 Singapore Airshow , Bombardier announced

9215-429: Was still studying the prospects of designing the Q400X and talking with potential customers. At the time, Bombardier was not as committed to the Q400X as it had been previously. In May 2011, Bombardier was still strongly committed to the stretch but envisioned it more likely as a 2015 or later launch. The launch date was complicated by new powerplants from GE and PWC to be introduced in 2016. In February 2012, Bombardier

9312-402: Was studying a 90-seat stretch. In June 2009, Bombardier commercial aircraft president Gary Scott indicated that the Q400X would be "definitely part of our future" for possible introduction in 2013–14, although he did not detail the size of the proposed version or commit to an introduction date. In July 2010, Bombardier's vice president, Phillipe Poutissou, made comments explaining the company

9409-576: Was the first US customer the same year. In 1986, Boeing bought the company in a bid to improve production at DHC's Downsview Airport plants, believing the shared production in Canada would further strengthen their bargaining position with the Canadian government for a new Air Canada order for large intercontinental airliners. Air Canada was a crown corporation at the time, and both Boeing and Airbus were competing heavily via political channels for

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