New U.S. scheduled carrier Connect Airlines says it will convert its fleet of used Dash 8-300 twin turboprops to hydrogen power by 2025. Under a letter of intent signed on November 8, the operator committed to buying 12 of Universal Hydrogen’s in-development conversion kits and holds options to refit 12 more of the aircraft.
Boston-based Connect intends to launch commercial services in the spring of 2022 with a pair of 70-seat Dash 8 Q400 aircraft leased from Chorus, initially offering flights out of Toronto’s downtown Billy Bishop Airport to cities including Philadelphia and Chicago; after that, it plans to expand its network to such cities as Detroit, Cincinnati, and Charlotte, North Carolina. It claims the switch to hydrogen will make it the first zero-emission U.S.-based airline and is rebranding the converted 50-seat Dash 8-300, which went out of production in 2009, as the “GreenJet.”
