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Bombardier brings Q400 to South America’s Aires airline
Oct. 7, 2010, Toronto - Bombardier Aerospace welcomed Aires to the growing family of Q400 aircraft operators during a launch event on Tuesday held by the airline in Bogota, Colombia. The carrier is the first Q400 aircraft operator in South America, with four previously owned 78-seat Q400 turboprops.
October 7, 2010 By Carey Fredericks
Founded in 1981, Aires serves 22 domestic and four international destinations. The airline's fleet also includes 11 37-passenger Dash 8/Q200 turboprops, as well as mainline jets.
"The first Dash 8 turboprop was introduced into our fleet in 1994, and Bombardier's Dash 8-100, Q200 and Q300 aircraft have been very good for us," said Francisco Mendez, Chief Executive Officer, Aires. "With our requirement for additional seating capacity, we decided that our fleet should remain largely based on Bombardier aircraft with our acquisition of the Q400 turboprop."
"We welcome Aires as the newest operator of the Q400 airliner and the first on the South American continent," said Gary R. Scott, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. "The Q400 turboprop airliner is ideally suited to the short- and medium-haul routes in Aires' network and will offer the airline outstanding performance and economics with a reduced environmental impact."
Bombardier has booked firm orders for a total of 391 Q400 and Q400 NextGen aircraft, and as of July 31, 2010, 312 had been delivered. The aircraft are in service with more than 30 operators worldwide and have logged more than 2 million flight hours and over 2 million landing and take-off cycles.
