CONVERSATIONS WITH INDUSTRY LEADERS: LIVIA HAYES, OLIVER WYMAN VECTOR

While attending the Regional Airline Association’s 50th Anniversary event, we spoke with Marissa Snow, Managing Director of Communications at SkyWest, about the essential role of regional aviation in linking smaller communities to global networks. From post-pandemic recovery to essential air service, Snow shared how SkyWest continues to deliver reliable connections across North America.

Marissa: Hi, I'm Marissa Snow with SkyWest Incorporated. I'm Managing Director of Communications and happy to be here today with the RAA where we're talking about the importance of safe, reliable air service to all of North America, but also to small rural communities, which is where SkyWest began 53 years ago. Our roots are with small community air service. SkyWest is the largest operator in North America, with over 500 aircraft. We also serve over 250 airports across North America.

MHIRJ: What are your observations about domestic travel?

Marissa: Post pandemic, the demand in small and medium sized communities has really gotten stronger than ever. A lot of urban dwellers have moved to these small and mid-sized communities, but they still need that vital connectivity to the mass.

Passengers need access to the global networks we provide via United, Delta, American Airlines and Alaska. We're able to give them that vital economic link. They can maintain their business travel and their leisure travel.

Since they bore the brunt of the service losses and the captain shortage, it’s more important than ever. Communities are beginning to understand how vital the service is to their economic development.

MHIRJ: What is essential air service and how does SkyWest support those communities?

Marissa: Essential air service is exactly that. It's essential funding from the federal government that allows these communities to maintain some level of air service. In recent years, they've been challenged with maintaining that air service with the captain shortage and everything else.

But it really is the essential uplink to the national aviation transportation infrastructure. We have several communities that we do serve under the AS and, and the objective is to grow the demand so they are self-sustaining so that they can maintain their safe, reliable air service beyond the program. And we're really seeing that grow and develop and, and the communities are very invested in making it successful. It really is a critical component of our aviation infrastructure here in the U.S.

MHIRJ: What are SkyWest’s current goals?

Marissa: The two things that we're always focused on is delivering exceptional, safe, reliable service. And I think that's where the industry really come together. How can we continue to innovate, evolve, adapt and move forward so that these small and mid-sized communities continue to also grow and develop, and stay connected to the national infrastructure as well as the global networks.

MHIRJ: What are your thoughts on RAA reaching its 50-Year Milestone?

Marissa: Congratulations to RAA on 50 years. It's a huge milestone. We've seen so much change in the industry, but advocating and educating public and Washington on the importance and the safety and reliability of regional service, regional jets, working through the captain shortage, it really has been a journey and we look forward to the next 50 years.

 

For decades, regional air travel across North America was dominated by propeller-driven aircraft. Turboprops like the SAAB 340 and Beechcraft 1900 handled short routes, connecting small towns to bigger cities.

Passengers took ATRs and Dash-8s for flights between secondary cities and major hubs, but had to board through tiny terminals, often walking across the tarmac. It wasn’t ideal, but it served its purpose. Turboprops were economical, could land on short runways, and kept regional networks alive.

These planes were practical, but passengers didn’t really like them. They were noisy, slow, and seemed outdated next to the modern jets on longer routes. Airlines faced a dilemma. They needed something faster, quieter, and more comfortable yet small enough to serve thin routes economically. But the answer didn’t exist just yet.

THE RISE OF THE REGIONAL JET 

By the mid-1990s, regional jets like the Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) and Embraer ERJ families began serving regional airports, promising greater speed, comfort, and the prestige of flying aboard a real jet.

These new aircraft were sleek, fast, and airlines loved operating them. They could integrate better into hub-and-spoke systems, offer higher cruise speeds and reduce block times. Regional jets were also interchangeable with other single-aisle aircraft, without requiring adjustments to the schedule. Passengers appreciated the quieter cabins and the absence of propeller vibration. Eventually, their expectations shifted permanently, and comfort took precedence over marginal savings.

Suddenly, turboprops seemed outdated and the market began to tilt. The decline wasn’t overnight; it was more like a slow erosion. Airlines began phasing out their SAAB and Beechcraft fleets first, followed by gradual reductions in ATR and Dash-8 operations.

The most recent introduction of Regional Turboprops into the U.S. was Silver Airways in 2019. Silver was upgrading from older 34-seat SAAB 340s to larger ATRs. At the time the airline boasted that aircraft with better economics and efficiency would be transformational for Silver. ATR indicated that the introduction of the new aircraft would lead to what they expected to be a new wave of eco-responsible and passenger- friendly regional travel, and the return of the ATRs in the U.S. However, only five years later the ATRs were gone, and Silver was out of business.

No one else has adopted new ATRs for scheduled service. A few turboprops remain in service today, mostly in niche operations, but their footprint is shrinking rapidly.

WHY CONVENTIONAL TURBOPROPS WON’T RETURN

While sustainability discussions occasionally revive interest in turboprops, the reality is that infrastructure and networks have changed, and many small routes were abandoned to other forms of travel. Scope clauses now dictate the market requirements. Smaller turboprops are unlikely to return unless new aircraft with better economics are developed and chronic shortages of maintenance technicians and pilots are resolved.

Bringing back large-scale turboprop operations would require reversing decades of structural change, a scenario that is neither practical nor economically viable.

This reality was further reinforced by the announcement earlier this fall from Embraer’s CEO, confirming the cancellation of their turboprop program, signaling a strategic pivot toward electric and hybrid propulsion concepts rather than conventional turboprops.

LEGACY AND FUTURE

Turboprops didn’t fail; they evolved out of necessity. While they connected communities and made regional flying affordable, their decline reflects a broader truth, that aviation is continually striving for speed, comfort, and efficiency.

And as sustainability reshapes the industry, the spirit of the turboprop may return, not with propellers, but with quiet, electric motors powering the next generation of short-haul aircraft.

While these technologies are still in development, they align with global decarbonization goals and passenger expectations for modern, eco-friendly travel. Unlike turboprops, electric and hybrid aircraft represent a forward-looking solution rather than a nostalgic return to the past.

ATR BELIEVES THAT TURBOPROPS ARE POISED TO REPLACE 50-SEATER JETS. HERE’S WHY THEY'RE WRONG.

ATR has set its sights on the North American market, positioning its turboprops as the ideal replacement for ‘aging’ 50-seat regional jets. While they weave a good tale, they also reference an ‘imminent crisis’ that is completely made up.  

It’s time to scrutinize the narrative. Here’s why ATR’s vision is fundamentally flawed:

THERE ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH 50-SEAT RJS TO FULFILL MARKET REQUIREMENTS FOR ANOTHER 20 YEARS.

Let’s start by setting the record straight: ATR claims that existing 50-seat Regional Jets are aging and will retire by the early 2030s.

While ATR claims that existing 50-seat Regional Jets are aging and will retire by the early 2030s, implying retirement by 45,000 and 48,000 cycles, most of these aircraft are in fact built for 60,000 to 80,000 cycles. This means that they have more than 15 to 20 years of operational life left.

The regional market today is not constrained by a lack of aircraft capacity, but by factors such as pilot shortages and rising labour costs.

OPERATIONAL REALITIES: RANGE, ECONOMICS AND SPEED

Recently, ATR stated that the 100NM to 400NM market represents an enormous opportunity to convert drivers into passengers, basing their logic on a “point-to-point model mostly seen in Europe. However, the U.S. market operates on a hub-and-spoke model with regional carriers playing a critical role in feeding connection networks.

Operators require flexibility in serving routes beyond 400NM where ATR aircraft are not suitable. Also, Hub-and-spoke means operating out of busy hub airports, where turboprops are usually too slow to intermix with jets, and their climb speed prevents them from using preferred departure routes.

While ATR may claim that they offer a 30% operating cost savings, they only refer to cash operating costs, not direct operating costs that would include the amortization and financing costs of a new aircraft. It is essential to look at the whole picture, as the minimal ownership costs of existing (and paid-off) 50-seat Regional Jets give them a net advantage and superior overall economics.

Moreover, turboprops may be efficient on short routes, but they’re not fast, with a cruise speed of Mach 0.45 versus RJs' 0.78, leading to 20 % longer flight times. Slower speeds mean more aircraft are needed to maintain frequency, increasing complexity and cost.

If operating the same network requires more aircraft, you’re not truly saving money at the network level, even if you were able to save money on an individual trip. It also means needing more pilots, an expensive and scarce resource that can’t be treated as a simple variable in an economic model.

Turboprops’ limited altitude and range restrict route flexibility hence why operators prefer using jets. In addition, ground handling and icing system limitations further weaken the operational case.

PERCEPTION MATTERS: TURBOPROPS STILL CARRY A STIGMA

Despite ATR’s marketing push, only 8 ATR aircraft are in commercial passenger operations in the U.S. Passengers perceive turboprops as noisy, slow, and less comfortable.

The reality for passengers is that ATR’s maximum altitude of 25,000 feet, compared to 41,000 feet for jets, prevents it from flying above weather, resulting in a rougher ride, more turbulence, and longer routes to avoid storms.

Changing that perception will require more than a rebrand; it demands a fundamental shift in experience, which ATR has yet to deliver.

MARKET HISTORY: LESSONS FROM THE Q400 AND SILVER AIRWAYS

History offers cautionary tales; major U.S. regional carriers have shifted toward fleet standardization by replacing turboprops with jets. Despite its impressive capabilities, the Bombardier Q400, later rebranded to De Havilland Dash 8-400, failed to gain traction in the U.S. market.

Silver Airways, a turboprop-heavy operator with a fleet of ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft, filed for bankruptcy in December 2024 and ceased operations in June 2025, citing mounting debt and operational challenges.

These stories underscore the difficulty in scaling turboprop operations in a jet-dominated landscape.

MARKET MOMENTUM: JETS AREN’T DECLINING; THEY’RE EVOLVING

Contrary to ATR’s narrative, regional jet utilization has been steady for the last 20 years, and operators are finding new ways to adapt their fleet as market dynamics evolve. MRO demand is projected to grow, with operators investing in upgrades rather than replacements.

Maintaining on-time performance is critical to airline success, as passengers depend on timely connections and arrivals. The CRJ and ERJ fleets benefit from extensive spare parts availability, established MRO capacity and operational compatibility with mainline jet fleets. They offer superior performance across varied routes, better economics, and an enhanced customer experience. Their reliability and cost-efficiency, especially post-financing, make them the preferred choice for operators and passengers.

The market isn’t shrinking; it’s shifting toward more efficient jet configurations rather than turboprop substitutions.

ATR’s ambition to replace 50-seat RJs with turboprops is bold but misaligned with market realities. Limited support infrastructure in North America, scope clauses, operational limitations, historical failures, and entrenched perceptions form a formidable wall.

The future of regional aviation in North America lies not in reviving turboprops, but in evolving jets to meet new demands.