Σε μερικές περιπτώσεις μπορεί να έχουν πάρει τα πάνω τους ορισμένα turboprops, αλλά γενικά η αγορά είναι πολύ πεσμένη για καιρό τώρα, και σε καμμία περίπτωση δεν μπορεί να χαρακτηριστεί ως "αναγέννηση". Και μόνον το ότι η αμερικανική αγορά, που είναι η μεγαλύτερη στον κόσμο, τείνει ουσιαστικά να εξαφανίσει τα turboprop προς όφελος των regional jets, δίνει τον τόνο της κατάστασης. Και όλα αυτά, παρότι τα turboprop όντως είναι πιο οικονομικά στις μικρομεσαίες regional αποστάσεις.
Άρθρα και αναλύσεις έχουν γραφεί πολλά βέβαια. Ενδεικτικά, τέσσερα αποσπάσματα:
Από περσινό
άρθρο του Aviation Week & Space Technology:
The final regional market paradox affects turboprop planes. In theory, the new airline emphasis on frequency and costs, and the de-emphasis on passenger comfort, should mean that airlines rethink their desire to only feed their networks with jet-powered aircraft. For short routes (250 naut. mi. and less), turboprops offer better economics with scarcely discernible time differences.
Yet once again, the reality has proven harsh. The Franco-Italian ATR is just getting by, relying on a corporate reorganization to shore up profitability as production rates stay low. Bombardier's Dash 8Q, long the market leader, has been hit worse, with surplus planes resulting in a decision to quit production for at least two months starting in mid-November. The vaunted new Dash 8-400 version has garnered only 80 orders, even though it entered service three years ago. Meanwhile, Raytheon's 19-seat 1900, the only other turboprop transport of note, has also suffered from excess inventories and slack demand. The manufacturer has denied rumors of a program cancellation, but doubters are not in scarce supply.
Από φετινό
άρθρο του Aviation International News:
Aviation International News’ analysis of the exclusive Airclaims data shows that although the fleet declined by a minuscule 0.0056 percent between 2001 and 2002, overall some 2,048 jetliners (excluding military, private and government aircraft) were added in the four years to June 30, 2004. By contrast, the turboprop fleet is declining, having fallen by 13.1 percent from 4,958 aircraft in service in mid-2000 to 4,310 at the end of last month, according to Airclaims.
But the reality is that from 2001 onward, manufacturers have suffered a declining backlog of unfulfilled jetliner orders, falling from a peak of 4,489 to 3,108 in the 12 months to June 30, 2004. More alarmingly, the backlog of orders held by companies producing turboprop airliners has fallen to a much lower level, albeit one that remained essentially unchanged in the past year.
While manufacturers held orders for almost 250 turboprop aircraft in mid-2000, this total fell steadily to 50 three years later, before growing by a single unit to 51 in mid-2004, according to Airclaims.
Από πρόσφατη
συνέντευξη του ίδιου του CEO της ATR:
Q: Demand for turboprops has fallen off sharply in recent years as regional jets have become more popular. ATR, for instance, only booked 10 orders last year and delivered just nine aircraft. Do you see the market recovering in the coming years?
A: I’m not a dreamer, but there is a situation we can see developing in the next few years that ATR and Bombardier may see an average market requirement of 50 aircraft per year.
Η αγορά τουλάχιστον έχει μάλλον σταματήσει να κατεβαίνει, όπως αναφέρεται σε άλλο
άρθρο του Aviation International News:
Last year saw reasonably brisk activity in the regional turboprop business, as the Western world’s remaining players scrambled to hold their positions during a period of continuing sluggishness in the air-transport sector. Although deliveries of new regional turboprops have sunk to historic lows, Bombardier’s de Havilland division registered a fairly significant sales increase over the year before, while ATR managed to mitigate a negligible decline with a relatively large order early this year.
