SAS, Widerøe drop Dash.
Further troubles with Dash 8-Q400 planes have convinced Scandinavian airlines SAS and Widerøe to ground them for good.| Related stories: |
| Groundings disrupt traffic - 13.09.2007 |
SAS management retired 27 Dash planes after another incident, where a plane had to make an emergency landing on Saturday. In Norway the decision will have most impact via subsidiary Widerøe, which has four Dash planes in heavy use.
"Confidence in the Dash 8-Q400 is significantly reduced and our customers are increasingly skeptical to flying with them. So, with the approval of the board, taken the decision to take the Dash out of use, SAS CEO Mats Jansson said on Sunday after an extraordinary meeting of the SAS board.
SAS would rebook or refund tickets to try to reduce traffic delays that would result from the decision.
Canadian plane producer Bombardier was disappointed with the SAS decision to drop the Dash, since no consistent problem had been found with the undercarriage.
The Dash carries Widerøe passengers between Torp Sandefjord and Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim and Copenhagen. SAS said that their Stockholm-Trondheim route would be affected but no domestic flights in Norway used the Dash model.
Scandinavian aviation authorities tentatively banned the Dash 8-Q400 after a SAS flight from Bergen scrape landed at Copenhagen Airport on Saturday after its right wheel apparently failed to extend during landing. The incident was one of at least eight in Europe involving this Dash model since early September.
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