CAL To Order Turboprops

[Ex737Driver]

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazet....html?id=24a95a3d-cac7-4dcb-a6e2-54c1a2a2545c
Bombardier in line for turboprop order



Continental Airlines of the U.S. is seeking to place 24 Bombardier 70-passenger Q400 turboprops on its domestic runs by early next year, replacing some small regional jets, says industry publication Aviation International News. Large turboprops, made by Bombardier in Toronto and by the Franco-Italian ATR in Europe, use less fuel than small regional jets on short-haul flights, resulting in a one-third advantage in operating costs. Bombardier booked net sales of 60 Q400s last year. It has confirmed the strength of the turboprop market worldwide and may build a larger Q400, but it does not comment on reports of orders.

 

[bravodude]

Who would fly them???

 

[Dirty Sanchez]

Colgan

 

[johnsonrod]

Colgan

Didn't Pinnacle just buy Colgan?

 

[RJAA]

I can see this airplane be a good fit for routes like OKC, ELP, ABQ, TUL, MCI, JAN, LIT, BHM, MEM to Houston.

 

[pilotyip]

T-props forever

 

[JetMonkey]

It was only a matter of time. I wondered about this for years ever since I was there, there's always been this huge gap (55 seats if I remember) between the 145 ExpressJets and mainline's 737-500. I remember all the rumors back then when the E170's where comming about filling that void, but it never came to pass.

 

[Palomino]

i'll bid it

 

[Sir Innocenti]

That Q400 is simply amazing! Shes a lucky girl....to date, not that many airlines have placed orders for the 400 due to the RJ craze....Its starting to look like this airplane may have another lease on life as it seems more airlines are becoming interested.

 

[dane]

Oh no...

Not to ruin the party or anything, but here goes.....

I fly the Q400 for a scandinavian carrier. We have had the thing since 2000 and we were the launch customer I believe. I have only been on it for about a year and came from the MD80. I bid it for the chance to fly left seat.

It absolutely STINKS!! It is the worst airplane I have ever flown. Oh, the screens are nice and it has alot of power. Granted. But everything else is a disaster. Six years on it is not uncommon to have anywhere from 2 to 6 airplanes grounded on a daily basis(of the 13 airplanes in my base). It breaks down constantly, and for different reasons. Talking to people who have been on it from the get-go, it becomes apparent that nothing has really changed.

I still like my job and I enjoy going to work. It could however, be ALOT more enjoyable if we didn't have to put with constant tech issues, delays and cancellations. It may be cheap to buy and it may be cheap to run(on paper), but it still has to fly to make money.