Originally Posted by
Yabadaba
I have been approached by passengers who said they flew with us because it was a Q400... and not an RJ. Most love the fact it burns up less fuel and therefor creates less pollution... but lots comment on the extra headroom.
I am sure every RJ pilot can share stories about the relief passengers expressed when they realized they weren't flying a prop. How many of those people bought their ticket for the lowest price without checking? People got freaked out by the media after previous crashes. The public will forget it... they always do.
CAL offering to book people on a mainline flight for an extra charge... genius!
The only problem with fuel efficiency and the Q400 is that they maximize their performance (fuel savings) at FL250, and they hardly get to cruise there. Most of the props get FL180 (max FL210) in the NE due to the CRJ/ERJ's cruising in the FL200 to FL300 range, at faster speeds than the Q400 can achieve.