De Havilland sells up to 13 Dash 8-400 freighter conversion kits to Jazz

Canadian regional airline Jazz has agreed to purchase up to 13 freighter conversion kits for De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 turboprops, enabling the airline to carry freight needed to combat coronavirus. The conversion kits will transform the 74-seat turboprops into a configuration called the Dash 8-400 Simplified Package Freighter, the companies said Thursday. Jazz, a subsidiary of Chorus Aviation, will be the first airline to operate Dash 8-400s in the newly approved configuration, they say. Jazz president Randolph deGooyer says the conversions will enable the airline “to redeploy aircraft while contributing to the collective fight against COVID-19”. The conversions require removing seats and seat-track covers from the aircrafts’ passenger cabin. Then, up to 17 cargo nets can be strapped to the seat tracks. <br/>