Bombardier is offering an extended service program (ESP) to stretch the economic life of the in-use Dash 8-100 turboprop aircraft by another ten to 12 years.

The programme will extend the lifespan of the aircraft from original 80,000 flight cycles to 120,000 flight cycles.

Bombardier commercial aircraft programmes vice-president Benjamin Boehm said the ESP will be accomplished through structural and engineering analysis, utilising extensive fatigue and test data on the Dash 8 aircraft and will be initiated through a service bulletin.

Bombardier estimates that it will have a near-term market of about 100 Dash 8-100 aircraft which have flown 50,000 or more cycles.

Norwegian airline Widerøe will be the first one to receive the service for its Dash 8-100s, and the carrier will arrange for the replacement of some structural and systems components as identified by the service bulletin.

Bombardier may also offer ESP for Dash 8-200 and Dash 8-300 aircraft as they approach the 80,000 cycle mark in future.