WestJet Encore Awarded Order for Nine Bombardier Q400 Turboprop Jets

Calgary-based WestJet Encore Ltd. has just announced that they’ve awarded Bombardier Commercial Aircraft an order for nine of their Q400 tuboprop Jets. The transaction is the culmination of a conversion of options initially booked by the airline’s parent company WestJet and is expected to increase the total of WestJet Encore’s Q400 aircraft fleet to 45. The order is estimated to be around $293 million US based on the average list price of the Q400 aircraft. Ferio Pugliese, President of WestJet Encore raved about how Bombardier’s Toronto-built Q400 turboprop airliner has allowed WestJet to further expand from their Western Canada base to communities from coast to coast across the entirety of Canada and into the US where they are continuing to expand their network.

“These nine new superb Q400 aircraft will allow us to accomplish that”, says Ferio. Kevin Smith, Vice President of Regional Aircraft and Bombardier Commercial Aircraft believes that WestJet Encore’s operations have grown immensely in the short period of just three years and started with just two Q400 aircraft serving just two cities, to now 28 aircraft serving 36 destinations in Canada and the U.S With this order, WestJet Encore has a total of 17 aircrafts yet to be delivered that will continue to facilitate their aggressive expansion plans and that the ongoing orders for the Q400 aircrafts is a testament to the economics, flexibility, passenger appeal, reliability and desirability of the Bombardier aircraft.

The Q400 aircraft is a modern 21^st century turboprop that provides unmatched performance and operation flexibility in contrast to the other options available on the market. It is offered with an optional dual-class interior for enhanced passenger comfort with option extra-capacity configuration that will allow for up to 90 seats for the higher density markets and a cargo passenger configuration.

With a 30 percent reduction in fuel burn over the leading jets it so often replaces coupled with the radical reduction in carbon emission and the cost efficiency it’s no wonder that Bombardier is taking over the North American market. The Q400 has a cruise speed of 160 km/h which blows conventional jets out of the water at the same seat cost as the larger single-aisle jets and with the large propellers operating at a lower RPM, the Q400 generates massive power with minimal noise making it an exceptionally friendly option for city centers.

1. john parker
2. Posted on June 10, 2016
aviation news

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