Farnborough, United Kingdom (July 20, 2026)
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (“De Havilland Canada”) today announced that Widerøe, Scandinavia’s largest regional airline, has signed an agreement to implement De Havilland Canada’s new Dash 8-400 A-Check Escalation Program across its fleet of 17 aircraft.
Under the agreement, Widerøe will become the first Dash 8-400 operator to adopt the new maintenance program, which extends the interval between scheduled A-Checks from 800 to 1,200 flight hours. By reducing the number of routine maintenance inspections required, the program allows aircraft to spend more time in service while maintaining the highest standards of safety and airworthiness.
Implementation of the program is now underway and is expected to be completed over the next 12 months.
The longer maintenance interval will help Widerøe reduce aircraft downtime, increase fleet availability, and lower the labour and material costs associated with scheduled maintenance.
“We’re continually looking for ways to help our customers improve fleet performance,” said Rob Mobilio, Chief Commercial Officer for De Havilland Canada. “This new program will reduce maintenance costs and allow operators to spend less time in the hangar and more time in the air, while maintaining the high safety and reliability
standards the Dash 8 is known for. We’re pleased that Widerøe is leading the way as our launch customer.”
De Havilland Canada’s confidence in the program builds on its longstanding relationship with Widerøe. In 2021, the two companies successfully introduced similar maintenance interval extensions for Widerøe’s Dash 8-100, -200 and -300 aircraft, increasing the time between both A-Checks and C-Checks while maintaining the same high standards of safety and reliability.
“We’re pleased to continue working with De Havilland Canada to improve the efficiency of our Dash 8 fleet,” said Werner Skaue, Director of Aircraft Trading for Widerøe.
“Extending the time between scheduled maintenance will help us keep more aircraft in service while continuing to deliver the safe, reliable operation our passengers expect.”
The agreement reflects De Havilland Canada’s ongoing commitment to developing practical maintenance solutions that help operators improve fleet availability, reduce operating costs, and maximize the value of their Dash 8 aircraft.
