Yeah, that too.

 

Regardless of any political opinion, I think the real issue at hand is efficiency. And nothing beat a Turboprop on short or thin routes. Fuel prices might be low now, but I would bet that will not remain so in the medium or longer term, especially when demand picks back up.

I see the 50 seater jet as a fad that lasted too long and the Legacies allowed them to stick around more for PR reason. The real question is can the Legacy continue to subsidize their operation when the industry contracts as it so often does. In see Embraer’s announcement that a shift in philosophy is taking place.

 

So how do maintenance costs compare from a prop to a jet? I know propellers themselves are pretty maintenance intensive and if you screw it up people can get killed. Not to mention an engine out scenario in a prop aircraft can be a significant emotional event depending on when it occurs.

 

TP engines are smaller and less complex than modern TF engines. The PW150 that powers the Q400 I believe is only a two spool single stage centrifugal engine. Where as the CF34-8’s found on the CRJ700/900 are 10 stage engines. Although I see modern technology could give TP aircraft greater strides in operating and MX functions. FADEC, CMC, FBW and HGS systems to name a few.

 

I personally would go back to flying the dash tomorrow if my airline brought it back.

 

Sorry but I disagree. Props and everything associated with them including de-ice boots (wings, tail, props) add another level of complexity.

 

I can't believe all this talk and no one has discussed whether or not the A/C system on props is cool enough to keep it comfortable at the gate and taxiing when it's in the 90's outside.

In the ERJ the packs (off APU bleed at least) do a pretty good job.

I care A LOT more about flight deck temp than whether or not its a TP or TF.

 

Usually in SEA it is not an issue. Humidity in the rain can still be hard.

Outstations for Horizon, if it sits during the day, can be an issue. Fortunately most sits are overnight.

 

Marketing issues aside (which are not insignificant), dispatch reliability is an issue. However it is possible a brand new turboprop could have higher dispatch reliability than the 20+ year old 50 seat jet it replaces. It might also have RNP capability that allows it to operate in lower weather at non-CAT-II+ airfields than the 1990s avionics in the current 50 seat jets.

Many issues to consider here. In any case, the current 50 seat jets won't last forever. The manufactures insist they only exist because of U.S. airline scope restrictions and don't exist anywhere else on the planet (that seems absurd, but I am not an airline industry economist) but they certainly exist in abundance here and will need to be replaced sometime in the future.

Great point. However this issue has been easily dealt with on business jets with vapor cycle air conditioning systems. Modern variable speed compressors are extremely efficient and not particularly heavy. So this is not an insurmountable engineering problem.

 

I sure hope so because I NEVER want to ever again experience the pure hell of my previous job with 6 legs a day in SJU in a PC-12 which didn’t do jack to cool anything even at full power. Absolutely worse than flying a 172 in Fla in summer since at least there you can open windows.

The Swiss must think it’s in the 50s everywhere in the world with such a crappy air conditioning system😡😡