De Havilland Wins Biggest `Prop' Sales Since Bombardier Exit

(Bloomberg) -- De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. won its biggest plane orders since the brand was sold off by Bombardier Inc. with the sale of as many as 23 Dash 8-400 turboprops.

The manufacturer, an aviation pioneer long overtaken by the jet age, said Monday at the Dubai Airshow that it a signed a letter of intent with lessor Palma Holding Ltd. for up to 20 of the planes, which list at $32 million each.

That followed a firm order from Nigeria’s Elin Group for three planes to use in its oil and gas operations, bringing the total at the event to almost $740 million before customary discounts.

The Dash 8 program and De Havilland brand were purchased by Longview Aviation Capital Corp. for $300 million last year as part of a breakup of Bombardier’s aerospace assets. The new owners are betting on a revival for the plane after turboprops were displaced from most Western airlines by the advent of the regional jet.

While turboprops are slower than jets, their cheaper purchase price and ability to operate from shorter runways means most sales now come from emerging economies. At the same time the Dash 8-400, formerly the Q400, can consume 30% less fuel according to Bombardier -- providing a path for the planes to potentially return to favor as airlines face pressure to cut carbon emissions.

De Havilland Chief Operating Officer Todd Young said in an interview that the company he plans to step up marketing efforts to better promote the model’s environmental credentials, and is also keen to see it develop into a hybrid plane once the engine technology becomes available.

He said the company could also produce both a truncated and a stretched version of the -400 model to cater to a wider variety of markets if owner Longview sanctions the plan.

Bombardier disposed of the Q400 in a breakup that’s also seen the C-Series jetliner sold to Airbus SE and renamed the A220, and the CRJ regional jet program acquired by Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp.

Victoria, British Columbia-based Longview’s portfolio already includes the previously acquired De Havilland Twin Otter, used for island hopping, and the fire-fighting Canadair. The Dash 8-400 is a commuter turboprop line with a range of up to 1,100 nautical miles.

With its roots in England in the 1920s, De Havilland’s Canadian subsidiary made the Moth, the Chipmunk and the Beaver, the original bush plane used to fly the nation’s rugged north. Its Tiger Moth biplane featured in the 1996 movie “The English Patient,” which won the Oscar for best picture.

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