SAX orders new aircraft

[Gunship]

South African Express has placed an order for two 74-seat Dash-8-Q400s from Bombardier to join its regional fleet made up of older Dash-8s and the CRJ, all manufactured by the same company. This order effectively makes the airline the first customer for the type in Africa.


www.africanflyer.com

[knertius]

could this be my ticket back home???? great news!!! great plane!! did 7500fpm climb the other day (ferry flight) and i wasn´t even trying! ...now there´s just that minor detail regarding my lapsed SA licence....

[PEPSIPILOT]

South African Express has placed an order for two 74-seat Dash-8-Q400s from Bombardier to join its regional fleet made up of older Dash-8s and the CRJ, all manufactured by the same company. This order effectively makes the airline the first customer for the type in Africa.
www.africanflyer.com

Sorry for Quoting you GunShip but is SAX still owned by the goverment and if so then my TAX money is going for a good Cause, a Cause for me to get a JOB
THANKS,
:ok:

[EagleWings]

Hey Pepsipilot
If your profile is anything to go by you'll need a lot more than an up to date tax return to get that job. Anyway I guess there is nothing wrong with being hopeful.

Good Luck with the SPL and 747 type!

EW:ok:

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Always good to have something to aim for, EW.:ok:

Now, to whom do I send that bottle of whisky to arrange for an interview at SAX....:E :ok:

[Deskjocky]

Glad to see SAX has finally taken the plunge- this has been talked about for absolute ages now. Interesting that they havent chosen to give up any other aircraft, so it looks like they are going to do a little expansion. Great aircraft for their routes.

[FlyItLikeARental]

Q-400 is quite a beast of a machine as far as I know. Then again, the lawnmower at loftus compared to my crate is also a beast... His blades are bigger than mine and they have less grass on them...:}

Good stuff SAX:ok: :ok:

[nugpot]

Here is the press release from Bombardier:

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Bombardier Signs South African Express Airways For Two Q400 Airliners

Toronto, January 30 2006, January 30, 2006

First order in Africa for Q400 turboprop

Bombardier Aerospace announced today that South African Express Airways has signed a contract to acquire two Bombardier Q400 74-seat aircraft for its domestic and regional scheduled services. South African Express Airways will be the first operator of Q400 airliners on the African continent.

The contract is valued at approximately $48.5 million US.

“The Q400 aircraft’s operating economics are unmatched by any other aircraft. This important customer will be the first in Africa to provide passengers with the benefits of jet speed coupled with jet cabin comfort in this unique turboprop,” said Steven Ridolfi, President, Bombardier Regional Aircraft.

“The addition of the Q400 to our existing Bombardier fleet supports our vision to be the most successful regional partner airline. It also forms part of our long-term fleet renewal programme. We are confident the Q400 acquisition will improve our efficiencies and enhance our product offering in pursuit of our commitment to offer the best service to our customers,” said Siza Mzimela, Chief Executive Officer, South African Express Airways.

Based in Johannesburg, South African Express Airways was launched in April 1994. The airline operates a fleet of seven Bombardier Dash 8 Series 300 turboprop aircraft and six Bombardier CRJ200 regional jets, locally known as the “Express Jet”. The current Bombardier fleet offers business and leisure travellers the comfort of leather seats, superior design features and performance, while meeting European noise and emission control standards.

South African Express Airways transports in excess of 90, 000 passengers a month. It flies to 11 destinations within South Africa, provides regional services to Namibia, Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo and operates 56 frequencies per week between its various hubs.
While the Q400 airliner was designed to meet the requirements for high-density, short-haul services, the aircraft’s 360-knot (667 km/h) speed and 1,360 nm (2,519 km) range will offer South African Express additional productivity by extending its reach and capacity on new routes and markets.

The firm order book for the Q400 airliner now stands at 165 aircraft. As of December 31, 2005, 106 Q400 aircraft had been delivered to 13 operators in North America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.

______________

BTW PEPSIPILOT - SAX is owned by Transnet (for now) and has never been capitalised or re-capitalised like SAA with tax money.

They are currently operating 3 wet-leased a/c in addition to their fleet of 13, so expansion in a/c and crew is desperately needed.

[Solid Rust Twotter]

They are currently operating 3 wet-leased a/c in addition to their fleet of 13, so expansion in a/c and crew is desperately needed.


One can only hope. Ta muchly, Nugpot....:ok:

[Gunship]

Got a list of some SAX boys.

Amazing list of old chopper boys / instructors / vlamgatte .. really a good old Saaf old boys club.

They do have an excellent track record hey :rolleyes:

Just thinking aloud .. :E