De Havilland to pause Dash 8-Q400 production in 2021

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada (DHC, Toronto Downsview) has resolved to pause its DHC-8-Q400 production line once all ordered aircraft are completed later this year. “We will not be producing “whitetails” (i.e. completed aircraft ahead of confirmed orders) and market demand will guide our future production plans for the Dash 8-400 aircraft. While the very challenging market conditions being faced by the industry may lead to a pause in production this year, De Havilland Canada has not determined the duration of such a pause if one were to occur,” the manufacturer’s spokesperson told ch-aviation. Leeham News reported that the Canadian manufacturer reportedly told suppliers that it would not require any more parts for the time being once the outstanding turboprops have been built. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, de Havilland has firm orders for twenty-two Dash 8-Q400s. However, only 13 of these have assigned customers: six are due to deliver to Ethiopian Airlines, four to TAAG Angola Airlines, two to Biman Bangladesh Airlines, and one to Air Tanzania. De Havilland did not elaborate on how many aircraft it plans to build before the halt. The manufacturer’s current assembly line at Toronto Downsview, which is only used for the Dash 8s, is leased from Bombardier Aerospace through 2023. Given the lack of new orders and a shrinking backlog of unfilled ones, it is unclear if De Havilland will seek to extend the lease. “We continue to sell and deliver Dash 8-400 aircraft, and to support the worldwide fleet of Dash 8 Series aircraft while taking appropriate measures to safeguard our people and our business. We are investigating various scenarios for the future with many stakeholders, and we will communicate more openly on this topic when plans are approved and confirmed,” the spokesperson said. De Havilland Aircraft of Canada is owned by Longview Aviation Capital, which is also the parent firm of Viking Air (VKN, Victoria Int’l), the manufacturer of DHC-6s. Longview bought the Q400 programme from Bombardier in 2019 together with the brand. De Havilland Canada was originally state-owned and sold to Boeing in 1986, which then sold the Canadian firm to Bombardier in 1992.