Turboprops are a niche aircraft. They use a bit less fuel but are a lot slower. That means they are only good for short routes. While many like to think they save a lot of money, they don't. A Q400 actually about the same as a CRJ700. And fuel costs aren't as important as many pilots think. The opportunity cost of a turboprop is greater than the potential fuel savings. A regional plane is expected to last over 20 years. Take a look at what the regional airline market looked like 20 years ago. To be successful, a regional needs to be able to quickly change its route structure. A turboprop isn't as versatile as an RJ. While the Dash-8 saved CommuteAir some fuel on their EWR-ALB route in 2008, it would have prevented them from bidding on the EWR-MCI route in 2018.

A used Q400 is $12.5 million. A used CRJ700 is about $12 million. A Q400 burns about 10.4 lbs/nm. A CRJ700 burns about 14.0 lbs/nm. That's about a 34% fuel savings for a Q400. And that 34% fuel savings is only going to be able to happen on a small percentage of flights. Those flights will be slower, so therefore the airline will need more planes and crews to get the same level of service.