Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Frontier orders 10 turboprops

To quote the Aero-News Network (ANN), "In case you hadn't noticed... after the rush to replace turboprop airliners with regional jets a few years back, the propjets are making a comeback."

The comment is in response to the news that Frontier Airlines has ordered 10 Q400 74-seat turboprop airliners from Bombardier Aerospace, with options on 10 additional Q400 aircraft.

An article about the purchase on ANN says:
The Q400 aircraft is the airline's first turboprop. Frontier operates 280 flights a day to 57 destinations in the US, Canada and Mexico -- some of which are flown by Horizon Air as Frontier JetExpress, using Bombardier CRJ700 regional jets. (Horizon also flies Q400s on its own routes.)

"Only the Bombardier Q400 aircraft has the very low operating costs and operational characteristics that we require to develop new flying from our hub in Denver to points in Colorado and surrounding states," said Frontier President and CEO Jeff Potter. "The aircraft's high cruise speed and excellent passenger comfort complete an extremely attractive package. Judging from the experience of other Q400 operators, our passengers are going to enjoy flying in this aircraft."

Frontier Airlines becomes the 18th operator to order the Bombardier Q400. Firm orders stood at 185 aircraft as of July 31, 2006, with 125 having been delivered.
Source: Frontier Airlines Orders Its First Turboprops - Aero-News.net

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , ,