The story of the turboprop revival keeps getting better. Following the news that ATR had record sales in 2007 comes the revelation that a major US regional carrier - Horizon Air - is seriously evaluating a switch to an all-turboprop fleet.
The move, which would see the Alaska Air feeder carrier drop its Bombardier CRJ fleet in favour of an all-Q400 operation, brings the modern story of the turboprop airliner sector full circle since the regional jet boom began a decade ago.
In the 1990s, when fuel price was not the issue it is today, 50-seat jets were all the rage, with regional carriers like Continental Express boasting of plans to banish propeller-driven airliners to history as they racked up orders for Bombardier and Embraer regional jets.
Just two western turboprop airframers emerged from the ensuing slump. But those two companies - ATR and Bombardier - should be congratulated for keeping the faith. During the dark days of the early 2000s when production all but flat-lined, even they must have wondered if there would ever be a recovery. As one observer put it (paraphrasing Kipling): "If they can keep their head when all around are losing theirs - then they just don't get it."
But the turboprop doom-mongers were wrong, and the question now is: how far will the regional jet collapse go? The 50-seat market is well and truly dead, and it will be a concern to the jet makers that Horizon is questioning the economics of the 70-seaters.
Surely it will not be long before the market is robust enough for airframers and engine-makers to invest in larger and/or all-new turboprop airliner technology. Who could have predicted that a few years ago?
Source: Flight International
