Seven years ago Island Air introduced the plane of its future: a 78-seat Bombardier Q400 that was the largest in company history.

After just six months the plane was pulled from the fleet in the wake of competition from then-newcomer go!

Now Island Air might bring back the Q400, a move that could mark the beginning of the local carrier’s second fleet overhaul in less than a year.

Island Air, bought in mid-February by billionaire Larry Ellison, is seeking to acquire several Q400s from Bombardier that would be larger and more reliable than its current fleet of five 20-year-old ATR 72s, which seat 64, according to a person familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified.

The first Q400 would be delivered in April with additional aircraft to be delivered in the summer, the person said.

Earlier this year the company phased out its 37-seat de Havilland Dash 8 aircraft in favor of the ATR 72s.

The change to Q400s would depend on the company getting the pilots union to agree to the new planes.

Island Air CEO Paul Casey said in an email, "We do not have a deal with anyone and continue our analysis on a variety of options."

In September, Casey sent an email to employees in which he called the ATR 72s unreliable and promised that the airline would bring in a different type of turboprop aircraft in "a few weeks."

Island Air, which began service in 1980 as Princeville Airways, began using a Q400 turboprop in March 2006 but pulled it out of service in September 2006 after go!’s entry into the market in June of that year sparked a fare war. It canceled the delivery of two other Q400s.