Flying a Turboprop

The Q-400 and the ATR-72 are both twin-engine turboprop aircraft and carry around 70 passengers. Both are high-wing, with a T-tail and are powered by Pratt & Whitney engines with six-bladed propellers.

Two of the world’s most popular regional turboprop aircraft are the ATR-72 and the Bombardier Q400. However, the Indian short-haul segment has so far been dominated by the ATR-42 and the ATR-72. Produced by Alenia Aerospace of Italy and European Consortium EADS, the ATR has monopoly in operations at the smaller airfields, low traffic density routes or in the challenging operating environment of Northeast India. Despite a lower level of comfort as compared with a jetliner, the propeller-driven ATR-72 is extremely popular especially for its low fares. More economical to operate than a jet, the aircraft rakes in money for the airlines too. No wonder then that Kingfisher operates 25 ATR-72-500 while Jet flies 20.

SpiceJet, which has so far been operating only Boeing jetliners, has begun induction of 15 Q400 turboprop aircraft to compete in the ATR-dominated segment. And for the first time in India, the public may in fact be ‘proud to fly a turboprop’. With a quieter cabin that has comfortable seats and larger windows for enhanced view, spacious overhead stowage, the Q400 boasts speeds only slightly lower than a jet and available at a comparatively lower capital cost.

Delivering the jet experience at the economics of a turboprop, the Q400 NextGen from Bombardier Aerospace is definitely poised to revolutionise short-haul operations.

Turboprops in India

October 1999 witnessed the dawn of the turboprop era in India with Jet Airways inducting the ATR-72-500. According to Nikos Kardassis, the then CEO, Jet Airways, the turboprop is ideal from a cost perspective on feeder routes given the demand-supply ratio and more importantly its operating economics. The turboprop is ideal for some destinations on our domestic network especially for providing air links to smaller cities where the existing airports have only just been remodelled to accommodate smaller aircraft. The economics of a turboprop made immediate sense on short-haul operations, opening routes which were earlier considered unprofitable. Air Deccan, the pioneer of the low-cost carrier (LCC) concept, commenced operations with four ATR 42-500s in August 2003. Kingfisher Airlines inducted its first ATR-72-500 in March 2006. In a business with wafer-thin margins, turboprop appeared to be the way to open up new markets and generate profits even with low sub-optimal load factors. But the subcontinent knew of only manufacturer—ATR.

Ideal Airliner

The block time for Kingfisher Airline’s Bangalore-Pune flight is 80 minutes for Airbus A-320 but two hours for ATR 72-500. The ATR flight is operated close to midnight when traffic is low and the time factor is not critical. At other times of the day when demand is high, a turboprop would be viable if it is in close competition with the jet in respect of speed, capacity and cost. The ideal combination, therefore, would be an aircraft with the speed of a jet and the economy of a turboprop. The Q400 is Bombardier’s solution to this. SpiceJet has already ordered 15 with the option for another 15.

The Q400 and the ATR-72 are both twin-engine turboprop aircraft and carry around 70 passengers in four atleast seating, although the Q400 seating capacity rises as high as 80 passengers. Both are high-wing, with a T-tail and are powered by Pratt & Whitney engines with six-bladed propellers. The ATR-72-600 variant features a full glass cockpit akin to that on the Q400.

Compared with the ATR-72, the Q400 has a longer fuselage, appears sleeker and has a dorsal spine from the wing-box to the rudder. The engines are larger and unlike the ATR-72, extend beyond the trailing edge of the wings. The main landing gear of the Q400 is mounted under the engines rather than in the fuselage as in the ATR giving a ‘clean’ appearance. The wheel-base of the Q400 is double that of the ATR-72 making it far more stable on the ground. With a longer and sharper nose, the Q400 has an ‘aggressive’ appearance vis-a-vis the ATR-72 which appears docile.