TURBOPROP'S COMEBACK

In a general overview very uncertain, turboprop aircraft are regaining ground against most expensive jet.

The first civil turboprop flight took place in 1950, when a Vikers Viscount carried passengers from London to Paris. In the next 60 years, turboprop airline had their ups and down, many manufactures  as British Aerospace (now BAE Systems) with its Jetstream 31, 32, 41  and ATP, Dornier with Do 228 and 328, Embraer with Bandeirante and Brasilia, Fairchild with Metroliner , Fokker with F50 and Saab with models 340 and 2000 disappeared. Now there are only two major players, ATR and Bombardier. In some niche market there are attempts to revive products. like the 19 seaters segment, where Viking is re-launching the Twin Otter and RUAG the Dornier 228. The market's evolution has brought an increasee in capacity, thus the segment between 19 and 50 seaters has shrunk, while the 70 seaters are growing. Overall, the total number of turbo liners worldwide decreased from 1.700 in 2000 to 1.500 in 2006, and then it has remained stable, and deliveries are now about 100 per year.

The current comeback of props is essentially due to the growing cost and excessive fluctuation of fuel cost, while passengers are now perceiving the propeller just as safe and as modern as the jet.

The so called jet mania is over, and the smaller routes need a turboprop, instead of the more expensive jet, to remain profitable. According ATR, in the next 20 years airlines need 3.100 new turboprops, for a value of 70 billionnn dollars: 1.600 70 seaters, 1.000 90 seaters and 500 50 seaters. This trend is further confirmed by the fact that leasing companies are more and more interested in these aircraft. Currently 150 ATR airlines belong to leasing companies, 20% of the total, twice as many as two years ago.

ATR now has backlog of 223 orders, its highest ever, which represent a value of 5 billion dollars and three years of production, it has received a total of 10152 orders, 40% of them after 2005. Bombardier. on the other hand, now offer just its Q400 70seaters, which has lost its appeal, despite some recent upgrade of it interiors, A stretched version of Q400 was announced a few years ago, but then all traces of this project were lost, while the CRJ900 was stretched into the CRJ1000. The Canadian company produces also the CRJ jets and is concentrating its energies on the CSeries family. While ATR received 78 orders at the last Paris Air Show, worth 2.4 billion dollars, plus options for 32 more, Bombardier didn't sell a single Q400, and the backlog for this model stands at just 55 aircraft.