Just to avoid flying on a prop plane eh?

And I’m saying none of that matters to pax, because props have a terrible image and nobody wants to fly on one.

if I had a dollar for every time someone came to me and said ‘I’m flying on one of those little prop planes, not a jet, please tell me they’re safe’ I could buy myself a cheap steak dinner.

When my choice was to ride a slow, bumpy, noisy, hot, cramped prop to a connection in LAX, or just drive a few hours to SAN or PHX, then yes.

Pax hate props because airlines PR told them to hate props for years if not decades.
"Dont go on that old crusty prop at our competitor, we bought new uber super cool JETS (like FIGHTER jets yes indeed !!) that we now need to pay off so bring your wallet"

As others said above, put them in a decent cabin and run a long PR campaign saying its not a prop but actually a jet engine whose fan casing has been removed for better efficiency, it shouldnt be too hard with 6-8 blades or more in new prototypes.
Throw a bit of green washing in there, it wouldnt hurt... travelling AND saving the planet at the same time you know... and boom ! pax get rid of their stupid idea that prop = death.

All that plus the ticket being 5-10$ cheaper because of lower fuel costs and you're set :)

There's an entire generation of customers that have never flown on a turboprop, and an older generation that could be convinced when you show them how nice it is compared to the CRJs and 145's they regularly fly on now. Plus the younger generation actually tries to care about the environment. It wouldn't be a hard sell. I used to fly the 1% around and they happily hopped in a (quiet, comfortable) turboprop when it made sense. You throw someone who regularly flies on a 145 in a next gen turboprop and they'll be in heaven.

People willingly fly airlines where they have to pay $25 to bring their backpack on board and spend 3 hours with their legs crushed against the seat in front of them if it saves 10% on the fare. They will fly on turboprops if you make it attractive.

Well, you may very well be right.

But I have my doubts. Yes, people will go to the lowest fares, but will they like/enjoy it? I’m not so sure about that. And the ones who have enough disposable income will probably avoid them. There’s a reason why some people fly Spirit and some don’t.

Does anyone 'enjoy' flying coach anymore?

This is the real question. Covid aside, before that, it sucks. Nickle-n-diming, no leg room, no shoulder room, other people in general, cattle boarding — it’s not a pleasant experience.

I remember when CAL put the Q400 on the BOS-EWR run. It was the perfect stage length for that type of plane, but bookings tanked and we lost high revenue business travelers to Delta. The public preferred to ride in an old 737-500 than a brand new turboprop. Gate agents told me that the jet service filled to max capacity, while the turboprops went out light.