FlyGuy0507

Hey guys,
I was wondering, in all of your opinions, which regional plane is/was the cheapest to operate and made the airlines the most money. Is it something like the ERJ, CRJ, Dash 8, Saab? I don't want to start a fight about which plane is the best out there because we all have our own thoughts but I'm wondering on which aircraft was the big money maker.

Alex

mmaviator

I posted this on another thread. They say it's the most efficient, lowest operating cost.

tennisguru

You can't really cross-compare between 2 totally different aircraft because it really depends on the route. I'm not sure which aircraft burns the least fuel/hr, but as far as making money, there are a whole lot of variables to consider. Distance and demand come to mind first. MEM-PIB (Pine Belt) used to always be on a Saab 340. I don't know about the loads then, but now that we are doing it on a CRJ-200 I haven't seen anything close to a full plane. Not saying it doesn't happen from time to time, but in general that route is much better suited to a turboprop than a jet. Delta apparently doesn't care though and is willing to waste money throwing a CRJ-200 down there 2-3 times a day.

On the flip side MEM-ICT (which I think we no longer do) is way too long of a flight for a prop, but we were usually full on the -200. Pretty solid bet that it at least broke even most of the time. Some short routes are always full and have lots of high fare business passengers (GSP-ATL comes to mind) so putting a larger regional jet or even a mainline aircraft many times makes sense.

Now comparing different airplanes of similar characteristics is a different story. I don't really know whether a Saab or a Dash is better on a given route, or a CRJ/ERJ either. I've heard the CRJ is better, but I don't have numbers to back that up.

MEMpilot

I am ignorant of the topic, however I would take a guess that a Q400 is up there in efficiency. It seats as many as an RJ, runs on turboprops, and hauls ass for an aircraft of its kind.

Sounds like the variables are there for it to be cost-effective, but again I am no engineer...

BoilerUP

Efficiency doesn't really mean much if you ignore the capital costs of purchasing/leasing the thing...

FlyJSH

What is the mission? What is the pay load? What is the range?

A taxi is more efficient moving one person three miles, but a Greyhound bus is more efficient moving forty people 300 miles.

A 747 is very efficient at moving 400 people 4000 miles, but it makes a very poor JFK-LGA shuttle.

Fly IFR

I have heard very good things about the CRJ-900 in the field of efficiency. Don't know if it still holds true to today's standards however.

TonyWilliams

Boeing 737 is my vote.

ridered

the Q-400 is a very efficient t-prop. now if they could just get the MX reliability fixed

TonyWilliams

My last company operated both the CRJ-900 and Boeing 737 series. I'm confident that a 737 can beat any CRJ in cost/seat mile. The B737 is definitely a regional plane (as opposed to long range aircraft, like B777, etc).

But you'se guys probably mean "fee for departure" model in USA only airlines, right?