Saturday, July 05, 2014
Bombardier Q400
On my recent Alaska trip, I flew between Fairbanks and Anchorage (260 miles) in one of these. These turboprops are much cheaper to operate than the jet engined equivalent. And with such short trips, the top speed is really irrelevant.
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3 comments:
Alaska (Horizon?) flies these OAK-PDX, and I'm a fan. Compared to the jet service on United and Southwest:
+ Fabulous views out the window, thanks to lower altitude
+ You get to land PDX on the shorter runway, without having to queue behind all the jets (from a roundabout angle)
+ Quick to disembark: Pull right up to gate and throw down the stairs
- More cramped cabin
- Less room for carry-on, mostly mitigated by gateside baggage check and pickup
@rchen: Yes, I flew on Horizon. I really dig it. I heard that this is very popular between PDX-SEA as well.
They are common on shorter domestic routes in Oz too - known as "bugsmashers"
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