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Turboprops are a reality of regional aviation, but the replacement of jets with turboprops does create product inconsistency challenges for airlines and customers alike. nal
Turboprops…
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Attraction or detraction?
If you’ve been paying attention to the fleet expansion plans of Australia’s airlines, it’s all about regional turboprops: Qantas’s Bombardier Q400 and Virgin Australia’s ATR 72.
The economics of the 70-seater turboprops mean that airlines are snapping them up (the slower, more fuel-efficient ATRs in particular) as fast as they can. Virgin CEO John Borghetti said recently: “If we could go to a milk bar and buy another five, we would. ” Turboprop benefits aren’t just the result of fuel-sipping engines, it’s the fact that their crews and other overheads – from subsidiary or soon-to-be-subsidiary airlines like Sunstate and Skywest – are cheaper than their mainline counterparts.
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