Bombardier Q300: The little plane with the confusing name

They’re the smallest plane in Air New Zealand’s fleet, connecting passengers in the regions with the main centres.

But while many of us are familiar with the stalwart turboprop, you might be calling it by the wrong name.

For years, we knew the 50-seater aircraft as the Bombardier Q300. This name referred to its manufacturer, Canada-based Bombardier Aerospace.

But Bombardier wasn’t actually the original maker of the plane. That was another aircraft manufacturer, called De Havilland Canada.

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In 1983, the company rolled out the first aircraft in a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners to be called the De Havilland Canada DHC-8 – commonly referred to as the Dash 8.

The company had previously launched the Dash 7 aircraft, which had four turboprop engines. The Dash 8 only used two engines, and was billed the most fuel-efficient regional aircraft in the world when it was introduced.

At the time, De Havilland was a crown corporation of the government of Canada. But in 1986, it was privatised, with its aircraft production facilities and products sold to Boeing. The American planemaking giant had been trying to woo the Canadian government so it could win a contract to make new jets for Air Canada.

But Boeing ended up losing out on that gig to Airbus, and almost immediately after put De Havilland back up for sale.

That was when Bombardier came in, purchasing the company in 1992. Bombardier would take over its Dash 8 programme, rolling out what was called the Q-series, making improvements to the aircraft, including an active noise and vibration suppression system. The “Q” stood for “quiet”.

There were four models in the Q series family. The Q100, which could hold 37-39 passengers. The Q200, which had the same passenger capacity but stronger engines. Then came the Q300, which could hold 50-56 passengers.

Finally, they developed the Q400, which could hold 68-90 passengers, and had even more powerful engines compared with its predecessors, allowing it to fly faster and farther than conventional turboprops.

Air New Zealand purchased its first Q300 in 2005, and its last in 2009, when Bombardier ceased production of the aircraft. The airline currently has 23 in operation, servicing regional ports like Gisborne, Timaru, Whangarei and Hokitika.

But they’re no longer called the Bombardier Q300 – in fact, the aircraft has now come full circle.

In 2018, Canadian investment firm Longview Aviation Capital Corporation acquired the Dash 8 programme from Bombardier. It announced it would also be reviving the De Havilland Canada name.

The 400 is currently the only aircraft in the series still in production (though production has been suspended since mid-2021 due to Covid). It’s now officially called the De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400, instead of the Bombardier Q400.

Of course, older versions – like the Q300 – are still in use all over the world. In recognition of the fact they’re back in their original maker’s hands, it’s correct to call them De Havilland aircraft, too – as you can see on Air New Zealand’s website, which now refers to the plane as the De Havilland Q300.

Though Air New Zealand told Stuff Travel they usually just refer to the aircraft as the Q300, presumably to keep things simple.

So, now you know the aircraft’s name, and how it’s changed over the years. But we may not be using it for much longer – Air New Zealand has said it hopes to replace the Q300 fleet with an aircraft that runs on alternative power from 2030.