Bombardier has announced that its Q400 90-passenger cabin configuration has received certification from Transport Canada, with the company claiming that the aircraft is the first in-production commercial turboprop in the world to reach that passenger capacity. The 90-seat configuration follows is one of several Q400 improvements under development, including a 2,000-lb increase in payload capacity and an escalation of the A-Check and C-Check intervals from 600/6,000 to 800/8,000 flight hours.
“With increasing growth in the number of passengers per departure in the turboprop market, we are excited to offer our customers a higher-capacity configuration and 15% lower cost per seat compared to the previous standard Q400, leading to more profitability potential for airlines,” said Todd Young, head of the Q Series aircraft program.
“Upon delivery later this year, our launch customer SpiceJet will become the first airline to take advantage of the profitable and efficient operations of the 90-seat Q400 aircraft, following its order of up to 50 in 2017,” added Young.
