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Road warriors grown accustomed to regional jets on commuter hops flinch at the idea of a turboprop. Perhaps it's that sensation of being crammed into a flying matchbox while a man inside your head uses a jackhammer to tunnel his way out.

But airlines' changing dynamics mean that you are going to be seeing more propellers from your window seat. Relax, the ride is getting a lot better. A new breed of six-bladed turboprops like Bombardier's Q400--jet fast but even quieter--is leading a revival. Carriers are taking advantage of the new turbos' more efficient fuel burn, reduced cabin noise, increased capacity and comfort and greater speed compared with previous models.

From Europe's largest regional airline, Flybe, to the commuter partner of Continental, airlines have ordered 131 so far this year, more than doubling last year's orders. Bombardier's deliveries of its Q Series turboprop (Q stands for quiet) were up 71% last year. And Europe's ATR was in a death spiral when the market gave it lift; ATR's sales jumped 100% for its 42-seater (ATR 42-500) and 157% for its 72-seater (ATR 72-500).

The rocketing price of jet fuel has prompted the industry to rethink its jets- first strategy on short-haul routes (less than 500 miles, or about 800 km). Seattle-based regional carrier Horizon Air, owned by Alaska Air, was a hard sell on the Q400 until it couldn't get deliveries of the CRJ-700, a 70-seater regional jet, from the Canadian company. So Horizon grudgingly ordered 12 turboprops, and the airline hasn't looked back. "We found out very quickly that the Q400 was a completely different animal," says Pat Zachweija, until recently a top executive at Alaska Air Group. Horizon, with 33, has the most Q400s of any fleet in North America and expects to have 48--70% of its fleet--by 2009. "The economics were there," he says. "And as fuel goes up, we just look smarter and smarter." The Q400 might allow the regional to go up against low-cost, short-haul king Southwest and its fleet of Boeing 737s.

Bombardier and ATR figured out how to quiet the beast, although the Q400's 15-second drone on takeoff caused a recent flyer to initially doubt the improved 76-seater. Once the plane is cruising, though, Bombardier's noise-and-vibration-reduction system (cousin to technology used in submarines) monitors sound levels through microphones inside the plane walls. A computer initiates vibrations through special absorbers to counter those from the propellers, reducing the resonance of the airframe and hushing the cabin about 4 db quieter than many jets. ATR upgraded its four-blade propeller to a six-blade fiber-composite one with a smaller diameter that generates less vibration and cabin noise when coupled with other noise-dampening features.

Then there's the green card: the $24 million Q400 burns from 30% to 40% less fuel than--and emits half the CO2 of--a 70-seater regional jet and offers up to eight more seats. ATR says its light, $18 million 72-seater goes further, consuming 30% less fuel than the Q400 and 50% less than a regional jet.

Airlines and manufacturers are optimistic that today's turboprop runs will make the never-before-seen 500 production mark--ATR thinks it can crack $1 billion in sales next year. Bombardier is working on the Q400X, a 90-seater, which would be the largest turboprop in the world, to compete quietly with even bigger jets. As turbos continue to make noise in aviation, at least it's no longer the kind we've always expected. PROP-U-LAR Worldwide orders for turboprop aircraft with 20 to 90 seats.

full article:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1655707,00.html