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By Judson Rollins & Bjorn Fehrm

Introduction

Jan. 11, 2021, © Leeham News: COVID-19 may ultimately prove to be a net positive for turboprop manufacturers. Near-term orders will be pinched just as for jets, but a long-term loss of business travel and the resulting impact to airline yields will make turboprops’ superior unit costs appealing for shorter missions.

Turboprop engines create their thrust with a very high bypass ratio. The result is 30% better fuel economy than a jet. But it also means 30% lower speed. This limits turboprops to stage lengths to about half that of jets.

The market-dominating ATR and De Havilland Canada (DHC) turboprops use this base efficiency to compete against newer regional jets despite having designs which are 20 years older.

ATR-72-600 Source: Wikipedia.

Summary

• Turboprops have attractive economics, making them a larger part of the market post-COVID.
• ATR-72, DHC-8-400 turboprops are old designs.
• The only new turboprops come from Russia (Ilyushin I-114) and China (Xian MA700), limiting their market reach.
• Embraer is keen to enter the market with a new clean-sheet design.
• Continued dominance by ATR, DHC depends on whether Embraer goes ahead.