Why are US Airlines Ditching Turboprops? | Aviation Deep Dive

In recent decades, turboprops have nearly disappeared from commercial service in the United States. In this Deep Dive, we take a look at the reasons behind this shift and what this means for the future of regional aviation.

Video: Will Kibbe
Thumbnail: ATR

Follow Airways via Social Media:

#airwaysmag #aviation

[empirestate]

I never knew people don't fly airlines because of propellor planes. I always thought people picked the cheapest tickets!

[guard]

I was immediately saddened to see the title of this video, then even sadder when I heard that they have a reputation for being louder, more cramped, and outdated... because they are beautiful planes and I love them!!

[jernito]

There isn't one dash 8 fatal crash in America that's due to the aircraft malfunctioning. That seems like one impeccable safety record to me.

[romigithepope]

The most memorable flight I ever took was on a Northwest turboprop. It had a deicing issue so we flew low. They went around the cabin and asked everyone their weight saying “we need you to be honest.” Flying that low for so long you really got to enjoy the scenery. It felt like flying in the 1940s.

[shopart]

As for turboprops, the planes are safe, fuel efficient, fast and great for short flights. There MAJOR problem in most cases is they are run by small airlines with big airlines name painted on the fuselage, being flown by low time pilots as compared to the major airlines. And the general public has no idea.

[wallacegrommet]

On a flight under 400 miles, the turboprop is ideal. Excellent short field takeoff, lots of power at low speeds. Love em.

[stevenpayne]

Ever heard of Horizon Airlines? Regional for Alaska Airlines flying Q400s...mostly newer airplanes. I would honestly rather fly on a Dash 8 than a shitty little CRJ-200 any day.

[hemicuda]

I used to fly the dash 8 for american eagle. My last flight was June 30, 2018. Fantastic aircraft!! Very safe and reliable!

[shakey]

I once read an article in Aviation Week where they asked a representative from Horizon why they were buying more turbo props instead of the jets everyone else was buying and his answer was because “they burn a third the fuel and only add eleven minutes to their average stage length. Those are economies we can’t ignore.”

[frankbutaric]

The turboprops are prone to cabin noise. They are jet engines with props. Safe as any other plane

[Coywoof]

Alaska/Horizon always seems to use turboprops on the route between Portland and Seattle. I love getting to fly on the dash 8. I enjoy being able to see the landing gear from the window, and I like hearing the propeller. Also, it always feels so much faster taking off on the runway. Maybe the pilots are having more fun too?

[AlaskaErik]

Turbo props aren't going anywhere anytime soon in Alaska.

[megamilyon]

I remember in about 1990 I flew with my family to Honolulu and we were then going to connect to Maui. There was a mix up with the connecting flights and not enough planes for the passengers. It was late at night, pouring rain and all the passengers were very upset. There were enough passengers for 3 planes but Aloha only had 2 planes available. Finally after and hour or the passengers about to riot, Aloha said they had a 3rd plane. However, it was a PROPELLER plane. My mom and sister said they would not fly on that plane no matter what. My dad and I switched with them. We flew on the prop plane and they flew on the 737. I have no idea which plane was safer but the point about public perception of propeller planes was certainly true back in 1990. FWIW, my mom flies on Dash 8's at least once a month now. lol

[casey]

What’s funny to me is that almost every regional-sized plane in Canada is a turboprop with regional jets as a rarity, whereas in the US it’s exactly the opposite.

[steve-from-toronto]

The Q400 turboprop is a great plane. Love flying in that.

[RoyalMela]

Small jets offer also flexibility over routing and planning. Some days they can fly a short 30 minute hop between small cities, some days they can fly three hours between larger cities or hubs. It helps a lot when airlines plan their operations.

[quillmaurer]

1:02 An important observation to make is that not only did United go from turboprops to jets, the jets are notably larger than the turboprops they replaced, not really direct replacements. The smallest of the current United Express jets are the ERJ145 and CRJ200, both of which carry 50 passengers. Most of those turboprops were smaller than that. So maybe it's not just about wanting to get rid of turboprops, but also a shift away from the smaller aircraft that probably turned less profit - less fuel efficient per passenger, same crew costs, almost as much maintenance cost. We ask jet vs. turboprop, but I think the better question is larger vs. smaller, larger aircraft tending to be jets and smaller turboprops. It often feels like everything is trending in the direction of using 737 and A320 size aircraft for literally everything, "regional" aircraft are getting bigger while 737s and A320s are now used for mainline and some long-haul flights formerly done by widebodies. I guess Southwest, Frontier, and Spirit have the right idea only flying those aircraft.

[JuanWayTrips]

Flying public: I think we prefer regional jets over turboprops.

CRJ-200: Allow me to introduce myself.

[superduty]

Prop planes where good enough for SKY KING.

[jonesjones]

I flew a Dash 8 for 5 years after flying a CRJ for about a year prior to 9/11. Left the airline and moved to a new airline to fly an MD80. There was never a time I felt that the CRJ or MD80 were safer planes than the Dash. Moved from the MD80 to Airbus A320. Still feel like the Dash 8 was overall, safer. A better plane all in all. Not saying the CRJ, MD80 or AB320 isn't safe in any way, but overall, for a number of reasons, I feel the Dash 8 was the safest plane I ever flew in my career. Not the easiest, but the safest. Just my opinion.