Use of turboprops on international flights

[Bjwh86]

Hi all

I was recently checking Flightradar24 on my phone and seen that Todays Philippine Airlines flight from Brisbane to Manila is a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400.

This flight is usually performed by an Airbus A321.

The flight time is usually 7.5 hours for the 7,588km flight.

The only other international flight from Australia (Cairns) that I know of that uses turboprop aircraft, but on a much shorter route, Is Air Niugini (Cairns - Port Moresby) although most days it’s either a Fokker 100 or a Boeing 737.




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[system improver]

The ETA is now 6.37pm, so it is taking at least an extra hour and a half - and more like 2 hours compared to previous arrivals, with a very noisy flight compared to the Airbus.

Flight.jpg (85.57 KiB) Viewed 13658 times

[BroadGauge]

It's a data error. The flight is being operated using an A321Neo, which is reported correctly on other tracking sites.

There is even photographic evidence: https://www.flickr.com/photos/79487691@N07/45514466784/

[system improver]

The Dash 8 400 does seem to have a range somewhat less than the distance from Brisbane to Manila. The passengers will no doubt be relieved to be on an A321.

[Merc1107]

I've flown on the Q400 on longer domestic stages (2hrs 45mins) here in Australia with QF, and found the aircraft to be relatively quiet and comfortable. Unfortunately, no reclining seats. The Q400 is one of the faster turboprops around, but are really only intended as 'commuter' aircraft used on very short routes where the lower cruising speed doesn't present a significant tradeoff compared to a jet... Unfortunately regional air routes in Australia are often far from 'very short,' so the trade-off is quite significant, particularly with some of the older propjobs that get about for these services.

I'd always choose to fly on a Fokker 70 or 100 given the choice, airlines here have them configured with a generous 34" seat pitch and by default they're a 2-3 seating pattern. Rear-mounted engines means the majority of passengers have a very peaceful ride. 717s don't have the generous seat pitch, have a 2-3 (or is it 3-2?) seating pattern and rear-mounted engines.

[BT Enthusiast]

They did it again on 25 August... this time they say it departed at 1400h and arrived on time. They actually did with a lot of PR flights- including PR222, PR221, PR360, etc. It actually shows to be an A21N when you click the playback but for some reason it just shows Q400.