ANA Orders Four New Bombardier DHC8-400 Turboprop Aircraft

All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced firm orders for four DHC8-400 turboprop airliners from Bombardier Inc. of Toronto Canada.

Air Nippon Network (A-Net, President and CEO: Toshimitsu So), a fully owned subsidiary of Air Nippon (ANK), one of the ANA group airline, will operate DHC8-400 between Osaka (Itami) and Kochi on the island of Shikoku in autumn 2003.

A-net will double Osaka - Kochi service to 15 roundtrips a day with four DHC8-400s, the brand new high-speed turboprops by 2005. Currently, ANK operates 7 flights a day with Boeing 737-500 and Airbus 320.

"ANA's aim is to develop a new business utilizing landing slots appropriated for propeller aircraft at Osaka's Itami airport and our experience has proven the DHC8-400 to be the best match for the job," said Yoji Ohashi, ANA's president and CEO. 

A-Net was established on April 27, 2001 and operates from Sapporo's Okadama airport to destinations within Hokkaido(Kushiro, Hakodate, Monbetsu) and between Tokyo's Haneda airport and Ohshima island with a total of seven roundtrip flights a day. 

DHC8-400 Characteristics

Length : 32.8 m
Width : 28.4 m
Height : 8.3 m
Engine : PW150A (×2)
Number of Seats : 74 seats
Number of Crew : 2 Cockpit Crew, 2 Cabin Attendants
Maximum Take-off Weight : 29,000 kg
Cruise Speed : 650 km/h