Air Canada this month has introduced the Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 turboprop onto its operations in Western Canada as it boosts capacity on key regional routes this spring and summer in response to demand. The type was introduced on the Star Alliance member’s Air Canada Express flights from Calgary International Airport to Fort McMurray, Regina and Saskatoon from February 1, 2013.

This month’s growth represents the first stage of Q400 deployment in the region. From March 2013, Air Canada Express will also fly the type on routes from Calgary to Edmonton, Grande-Prairie and Victoria as well as between Edmonton and Fort McMurray. From April the turboprop model will fly to Yellowknife from both Calgary and Edmonton, while from May it will be introduce on flights between Edmonton and Grande-Prairie and from Vancouver to Fort St. John and Prince George.

"We are delighted to introduce the newest, ultra-quiet regional aircraft for customers in Alberta and Saskatchewan," said Marcel Forget, Vice President, Network Planning, Air Canada. "This spring, Air Canada will strategically increase capacity by either scheduling larger aircraft or adding flights to meet strong demand in Western Canada and we will continue to roll out the Q400 aircraft on additional routes in BC, Alberta and the Northwest Territories in the coming months.

“Air Canada Express flights are scheduled to enable convenient, point-to-point, same-day business travel, as well as convenient and easy connections to Air Canada's extensive domestic, US and international network at Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver,” he added.

The use of the Canadian-built Q400 marks a notable capacity growth on all of these routes. The aircraft are configured in a 74-seat arrangement and will replace smaller 50-seat Bombardier CRJ100/200ER aircraft. The Q400s are all operated by Jazz Aviation LP under the Air Canada Express brand.

In the table below we highlight the increased capacity this spring and summer the deployment of the Q400 will have compared to last year’s operation.