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High fuel prices send some airlines back to turboprops
By Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY
Some airlines are slowing their rush to swap turboprops for small jets, a recognition of the prop-driven puddle jumpers' contributions to fuel savings and scheduling flexibility.
One carrier — Continental — has increased turboprop flying with its commuter airline partners. United and Northwest have stabilized their use, for now.
Turboprops, used by smaller feeder airlines that are owned by or fly under contract with name-brand carriers, have been on their way out for about 10 years.
Airlines have been replacing them with faster 30- and 50-seat regional jets generally preferred by passengers. The trend quickened after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Travel demand plummeted, and airlines responded by cutting service to small communities, many served by turboprops.
Michael Magnusson, CEO of the Saab U.S. subsidiary that leases 30-seat turboprops, credits high fuel prices with the small uptick his company is seeing. Oil is off its October peak but remains pricey in the mid-$40-per-barrel range. A turboprop burns about half the fuel of a 50-seat regional jet on a typical 200-mile short hop, Magnusson says.
"When the industry was doing well and the fuel price was low, nobody focused on that," he says.
Overall, turboprop flying represented 15% of Continental's departures in 2004, up from 13% in 2003, according to an analysis of flight schedule data by consulting firm Back Aviation Solutions. Measured by the number of seats flown one mile, turboprop use by Continental last year was up 8% over 2003.
Passengers flying between Houston and Beaumont, Texas, are seeing the changes. Continental had flown the route with all jets since the late 1990s but now flies it with a mix of aircraft, spokesman Rahsaan Johnson says. Besides saving money on fuel, having more turboprops gives Continental greater flexibility in deciding the best use for its regional jets, he says.
Other signs of life:
• Continental is reviewing proposals from contract regional carriers to operate 50-seat turboprop flights out of Houston in the spring. More than half the new turboprop flights in Houston and Cleveland are for cities from 120 to 140 miles away. Flight times range up to 75 minutes, the Back analysis shows. One example: New service between Houston and Del Rio, Texas.
• Northwest plans to keep its commuter fleet of 64 turboprops about the same this year, spokesman Thomas Becker says. The Minneapolis-based carrier flies them to towns such as Hibbing, Minn.; Devils Lake, N.D.; and Watertown, S.D., he says. The United Express fleet will stay about the same, too, at 63 turboprops, spokesman Jeff Green says.
• Alaska Airlines is replacing Boeing 737 service with turboprops on its Anchorage-Dutch Harbor, Alaska, route. With the change, Alaska offers more flights, and traffic has grown as a result, Saab's Magnusson says.
Turboprops will never regain their previous share of the industry, says Tulinda Larsen, a Back consultant. About 200 turboprops are retired annually, three times the number produced each year by the two remaining manufacturers: ATR and Bombardier.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-01-10-turboprops_x.htm
By Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY
Some airlines are slowing their rush to swap turboprops for small jets, a recognition of the prop-driven puddle jumpers' contributions to fuel savings and scheduling flexibility.
One carrier — Continental — has increased turboprop flying with its commuter airline partners. United and Northwest have stabilized their use, for now.
Turboprops, used by smaller feeder airlines that are owned by or fly under contract with name-brand carriers, have been on their way out for about 10 years.
Airlines have been replacing them with faster 30- and 50-seat regional jets generally preferred by passengers. The trend quickened after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Travel demand plummeted, and airlines responded by cutting service to small communities, many served by turboprops.
Michael Magnusson, CEO of the Saab U.S. subsidiary that leases 30-seat turboprops, credits high fuel prices with the small uptick his company is seeing. Oil is off its October peak but remains pricey in the mid-$40-per-barrel range. A turboprop burns about half the fuel of a 50-seat regional jet on a typical 200-mile short hop, Magnusson says.
"When the industry was doing well and the fuel price was low, nobody focused on that," he says.
Overall, turboprop flying represented 15% of Continental's departures in 2004, up from 13% in 2003, according to an analysis of flight schedule data by consulting firm Back Aviation Solutions. Measured by the number of seats flown one mile, turboprop use by Continental last year was up 8% over 2003.
Passengers flying between Houston and Beaumont, Texas, are seeing the changes. Continental had flown the route with all jets since the late 1990s but now flies it with a mix of aircraft, spokesman Rahsaan Johnson says. Besides saving money on fuel, having more turboprops gives Continental greater flexibility in deciding the best use for its regional jets, he says.
Other signs of life:
• Continental is reviewing proposals from contract regional carriers to operate 50-seat turboprop flights out of Houston in the spring. More than half the new turboprop flights in Houston and Cleveland are for cities from 120 to 140 miles away. Flight times range up to 75 minutes, the Back analysis shows. One example: New service between Houston and Del Rio, Texas.
• Northwest plans to keep its commuter fleet of 64 turboprops about the same this year, spokesman Thomas Becker says. The Minneapolis-based carrier flies them to towns such as Hibbing, Minn.; Devils Lake, N.D.; and Watertown, S.D., he says. The United Express fleet will stay about the same, too, at 63 turboprops, spokesman Jeff Green says.
• Alaska Airlines is replacing Boeing 737 service with turboprops on its Anchorage-Dutch Harbor, Alaska, route. With the change, Alaska offers more flights, and traffic has grown as a result, Saab's Magnusson says.
Turboprops will never regain their previous share of the industry, says Tulinda Larsen, a Back consultant. About 200 turboprops are retired annually, three times the number produced each year by the two remaining manufacturers: ATR and Bombardier.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-01-10-turboprops_x.htm
