The Bombardier Q Series - originally called Dash 8 - is a series of turboprop-powered commercial airliners, introduced by the Canadian company de Havilland Canada. Dash 8 was developed in the early 1980s as a modern and efficient regional aircraft intended to replace older models on an increasing number of regional routes.
The original series 100 was followed by the more powerful series 200 and the bigger series 300, after which the company was acquired by Bombardier Aerospace, which soon recognised the need for a even bigger and faster aircraft that could compete with regional jets.
The new series 400 had a longer fuselage and could carry up to 78 passengers. On top of these improvements, series 400 had the letter Q (for ‘quiet’) added to its name to emphasise the reduced cabin noise and vibration. To date, around 1250 Dash 8 aircrafts have been manufactured, out of which 580 were Q400.