Bombardier Aerospace announced today that Jazz Air LP (“Jazz”) of Halifax, Nova Scotia has signed a firm purchase agreement to acquire 15 Bombardier Q400 NextGen turboprop airliners and has taken options on an additional 15 Q400 NextGen aircraft.

Based on the list price for the Q400 NextGen aircraft, the firm order is valued at approximately $454 million US and could increase to $937 million US should all 15 options be converted to firm orders.

“The introduction of the Q400 NextGen aircraft is a perfect complement to our fleet of Canadian-built Bombardier turboprops and regional jets,” said Joseph Randell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jazz Air LP.  “This aircraft, which in Jazz configuration will have 74 seats in a single-class cabin, offers superior passenger comfort, fuel efficiency and improved environmental performance. I’m confident that our passengers will appreciate the quiet interior and speed of this new technology.”

Jazz flies to more Canadian destinations than any other carrier, and is the second largest airline in Canada in terms of fleet size and number of routes flown. Jazz is the world’s largest operator of Dash 8/Q-Series aircraft, and forms an integral part of Air Canada’s domestic and Canada-U.S. transborder market presence and strategy. The airline currently operates 64 Bombardier CRJ Series regional jets and 64 Dash 8/Q-Series turboprops.

“We are delighted that Jazz has recognized the capabilities of the Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft for short- and medium-length regional routes,” said Gary R. Scott, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “Since it entered revenue service a decade ago, the Q400 aircraft has raised turboprop service and passenger comfort to an unprecedented level around the world.”

Launched in March 2008, the lower-emission, fuel-efficient, “comfortably greener” Q400 NextGen turboprop airliner is the most recent development in the evolution of the Q400 aircraft, and the advanced successor to the Dash 8/Q-Series family of aircraft.  Revised in the same spirit as Bombardier’s CRJ NextGen aircraft family, the Q400 NextGen aircraft features an enhanced cabin environment with the introduction of LED lighting, new ceiling panels, dished window sidewalls and larger overhead luggage bins. These features combined with the Active Noise and Vibration Suppression (ANVS) system provide an excellent cabin experience for passengers.

While the operating costs of the Q400 airliner were already among the lowest of any regional aircraft, the operating costs for both the Q400 and Q400 NextGen airliners were made even lower by increasing intervals between scheduled maintenance and further optimizing maintenance tasks, therefore reducing labour hours. The Q400 and Q400 NextGen airliners’ Aircraft Operating Manual (AOM) has been updated to reflect that the fuel burn under certain operating conditions is lower than predicted.

Including the order announced today, Bombardier has now booked firm orders for 378 Q400 and Q400 NextGen aircraft and had delivered 288 of the aircraft as of January 31, 2010. These aircraft are now in service with more than 30 airlines and other operators, and the worldwide fleet has logged more than 2.5 million hours and 2.8 million take-off and landing cycles. In addition to their role as regional airliners, Q400 aircraft are also being used in corporate transport and firefighting, and are suitable for an array of non-airline operations.

Source and picture: Bombardier