Originally Posted by
flyandive
LOL, for our sakes he needs SPS, Shiny Prop Syndrome.
The Q is a great airplane for Denver, only turboprop I know of that can carry a full payload (People and Bags) out of high elevation airports with lots of fuel. Great alternative to an RJ, more capable than a Brasilia and an old Dash. Don't know if it would have a high enough profit margin to compete with an old dash though, Doesn't have the crazy weight restrictions a Brasilia has at high elevation, so
it might be enough to justify replacing a Brasilia with a Q400. The only thing a Brasilia has over an old Dash is speed.
The Q400 is NOT a replacement for the E120, S340 and Q2 (ask Horizon) but it is a great replacement for the CR2. Bottom line, the MAJORITY of the markets the E120, S340 and the Q2 serve are not large enough to sustain a Q4 unless you seriously reduce frequency. Now a combination of Q2 types (off peak) and Q4 types (peak) might work on some markets. Customers love options more than they care about the aircraft. Just like they care more about the price of a ticket than the aircraft that carry’s them to their destination. Yes they’ll b1tch and moan about the size and type but they’ll complain a lot more about the price. At least until they start driving and at that point it will no longer matter what aircraft we operate.
We need someone to produce another Next Gen 30-40 seat turboprop. If they did I'd guarantee they'd sell more than enough to turn a rather handsome profit. I'd also wager that SKW would purchase 40-50+ of the airframes and would probably be the launch customer in NA.
PS. I too believe the Q400 has a long profitable future ahead of it but it's not right for every TP market.