Colgan Q400s to Operate Out of Dulles This Summer
Published by Dan Webb
on March 10, 2011
in Colgan, Pinnacle and United
. 7 Comments
I heard that the equipment from Providence (my local airport) to Washington-Dulles was changing this summer, and lo and behold:
Yes, some of the Colgan Q400s (originally part of Continental Connection) are marking their way to Dulles. The 78-seat aircraft will be used on regional routes out of Dulles, like Albany, Burlington, Norfolk, and Syracuse starting this June.
Colgan is not a new United Express operator at the airport, though – the carrier already provides services utilizing its fleet of Saab 340s.
Just like Newark, the Q400 appears to be a good fit for Dulles. On short-haul routes, thee speed difference between a regional jet and the Q400 is minimal. Another perk is economics – a Pinnacle investor presentation from December says the Q400 NextGen “consumes about 25% less fuel than 76-seat jets.” This is probably an important issue for airlines like United, as in many cases the mainline carrier is on the hook for the fuel expense for regional partners operating under a capacity purchase agreement (CPA).
Pinnacle also included an interesting graph in the aforementioned presentation – the Q400′s fuel burn advantage is apparent , and it only widens as fuel prices increase. (Note this is based on 300nm trip – not sure how this looks on longer stages.)
According to United’s latest fleet plan (released in January), nine Q400s are being added to the United Express fleet this year. Once these aircraft are placed into service, the total fleet will stand at 29.
Based on Bombardier’s latest update on Q400 orders and deliveries, it appears the aircraft coming online this year will clear out Colgan’s (really parent company Pinnacle’s) order backlog. So the big question is – will more be ordered? Pinnacle’s annual report notes that it has options for aircraft to be delivered this year and in 2013.
One issue, I guess, would be how the combined United-Continental scope clause eventually shakes out. Regardless, the Q400 looks pretty nice in an environment with high fuel prices, and could probably fit nicely into some United markets on the East Coast, but possibly on regional routes out of LAX and SFO as well. (I’m just thinking out loud here.)
Published by Dan Webb
on March 10, 2011
in Colgan, Pinnacle and United
. 7 Comments
I heard that the equipment from Providence (my local airport) to Washington-Dulles was changing this summer, and lo and behold:
Colgan is not a new United Express operator at the airport, though – the carrier already provides services utilizing its fleet of Saab 340s.
Just like Newark, the Q400 appears to be a good fit for Dulles. On short-haul routes, thee speed difference between a regional jet and the Q400 is minimal. Another perk is economics – a Pinnacle investor presentation from December says the Q400 NextGen “consumes about 25% less fuel than 76-seat jets.” This is probably an important issue for airlines like United, as in many cases the mainline carrier is on the hook for the fuel expense for regional partners operating under a capacity purchase agreement (CPA).
Pinnacle also included an interesting graph in the aforementioned presentation – the Q400′s fuel burn advantage is apparent , and it only widens as fuel prices increase. (Note this is based on 300nm trip – not sure how this looks on longer stages.)
Based on Bombardier’s latest update on Q400 orders and deliveries, it appears the aircraft coming online this year will clear out Colgan’s (really parent company Pinnacle’s) order backlog. So the big question is – will more be ordered? Pinnacle’s annual report notes that it has options for aircraft to be delivered this year and in 2013.
One issue, I guess, would be how the combined United-Continental scope clause eventually shakes out. Regardless, the Q400 looks pretty nice in an environment with high fuel prices, and could probably fit nicely into some United markets on the East Coast, but possibly on regional routes out of LAX and SFO as well. (I’m just thinking out loud here.)
