Aircraft Values Report – Dash 8, 50-seat RJs

Demise of Smaller Dash8 Production Has Little Impact on Values Bombardier has accepted the inevitable and opted to cease production of the 37-seat -200 and 50-seat -300 but this will have no impact on values, according to a report in RAN’s sister publication Aircraft Value News. The values of the Dash...

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Demise of Smaller Dash8 Production Has Little Impact on Values
Bombardier has accepted the inevitable and opted to cease production of the 37-seat -200 and 50-seat -300 but this will have no impact on values, according to a report in RAN’s sister publication Aircraft Value News. The values of the Dash 8-200 and -300 have inevitably been impacted by the move to larger turboprops and regional jets but relative efficiency has seen an improvement in recent years, said AVN, adding, with a consistently limited backlog and a move towards larger aircraft, there has been an expectation that production would cease. Values therefore remain unchanged by the event.
Orders for the -200 and -300 have been difficult to source in recent years such that only 12 -300s remain to be delivered and only five -200s, AVN reported. The order status for both variants is, however, considered to be reasonable at 105 for the -200 and 267 for the -300 (as of February 2008). The smaller types have been under pressure for some years as operators move to larger equipment. The ATR 42-500 has experienced similar fortunes. Operators have also been loath to place new orders for the 37- and 50-seat Dash 8 products owing to the lack of differentiation with earlier examples. While there is sometimes a shortage of quality used equipment, this has not been sufficient cause to order new aircraft with the same specification at more than double or treble the cost.

50-Seat Lease Rentals May Be Easing Once More
The recent period of stability for 50-seat regional jet lease rentals may be coming to an end as the effect of higher fuel prices and the need for mainline operators in the U.S. to alter their operations takes hold, AVN also reported.
The 50-seat regional jets were acquired at a time when the price of fuel was low and the passenger preference for jet travel was high. Times have changed. The price of fuel makes the operation of regional jets particularly expensive in comparison with turboprops. The average passenger has become more concerned with price than aircraft choice and with quieter interiors comes passenger acceptance of turboprops.
The age of the 50-seat regional jet is also such that the maintenance holiday is no longer evident. Lease rentals are therefore considered to be easing. For the larger regional jets the market remains stable. The demand is still strong and the financial crisis may actually be forcing rentals higher as lessors build into rates the greater cost of financing.
The European market remains the more attractive option for the leasing of aircraft owing to smaller quantities, higher specifications and a more fluid market not necessarily driven by tax issues.
Consultant Mike Boyd expects the North American fleet of 1,675 regional jets to begin shrinking this year to 1,042 by 2013 resulting in another round of shedding service to smaller markets. “There’s no place to put those planes,” said Boyd in press reports, which also quoted CreditSights Analyst Roger King as calling 50-seaters a “dead-end plane” that is not economic with current fuel prices.