The planes likely under consideration for Encore would have been
Dash 8 - 400 (prop)
ATR-500 (prop)
CRJ-700 (jet)
ERJ-175 (jet)
Prop vs Jet - basically the >100 seat jet was all the craze in the early 90s with airlines thinking people wanted to get to their destination fast and the passengers overall impression that jets were "safer" than propeller planes.
About 8-10 years ago when WJ was pondering a smaller bird than 150 seats Embraer even flew a demonstration one up but nothing came from it as WJ decided to go with the 736 (a heavier bird one that on its own has been a commercial failure for Boeing with very few numbers ever sold) because WJ decided that keeping 1 aircraft family was less expensive than introducing a completely new model that would have required different training and mtce etx.
Prop vs Prop - this is likely the only real discussion WJ had
Dash 8 (prop plane)
ATR-500 (prop plane)
Dash 8 vs ATR-500
Both are prop planes, ATR is a very popular model and ATR list price is less expensive. Its not known what WJ is paying for the D8 (I guess if you comb though their financials you could figure it out) but my guess is Bombardier gave them a good enough deal and WJ decided that supporting a Canadian company would likely help them more than a slightly reduced purchase price of the ATR.
Based on 512 nm route
ATR: 590 kg/hr *5,5 Hours /74people = 4,38 kg/pax
Dash: 720 kg/hr * 4,75 hours /78 people = 4,38 kg/pax
Example YYC-PDX is 549nm (likely the max distance they would fly the D8 from YYC
I think where you will really see the D8-400 choice really show its superiority is when WJ decided to transition to a biz oriented airline (probably 10 years away) when you will see YYZ and YUL routes to IAD, ORD, JFK etc.
A few other things the D8 has going for it. Its speed is probably its biggest advantage and one that allows the shorter length routes to be more viable than a smaller jet. Also its lighter, and alot of landing airport landing and gate fees are less expensive for smaller and lighter aircraft.
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MYK - Supports Arizona to democtratically pass laws for the state of Arizona
Rudy was the only hope in 08
2011 Election: Cons 40% - Nanos 38% Ekos 34%
Calgary – Grande Prairie eff 15AUG13 NEW 1 daily nonstop service
WS3248 YYC2030 – 2154YQU DH4 D
WS3249 YQU0600 – 0717YYC DH4 D (eff 16AUG13)
I am really looking forward to this schedule. You will be able to fly in and out of Calgary the same day and get there first thing in the morning. Prior to this you couldn't get to Calgary until after 9 which means getting downtown after 10 and losing half the day.
I can see myself booking with Westjet more often going forward.
I think you are going to see alot of those type late arrival early take off routes from the smaller cities like Lethbridge, FSJ, Prince George, Lloydminster, etc. Its great for aircraft utilization and allows WJ to funnel more people to its 737s. Arriving at YYC at 715 should allow all connections to be made for any plane leaving at 745 or later.
Depending on market size you probably wont see any more flights to those cities unless the demand is just crazy that it would require a mid day flight.
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MYK - Supports Arizona to democtratically pass laws for the state of Arizona
Rudy was the only hope in 08
2011 Election: Cons 40% - Nanos 38% Ekos 34%
So here it is... The Pilot who is a dear friend of mine and has a Masters in Aeronautics is no dummy who makes mistakes. He flies for the new TV show "The Following" starring Kevin Bacon. The accident was caused by a faulty flight control part known as a servo. This part controls the pitch mechanism of the rotor's control which is why the helicopter made the turn it did.
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
WTF. I wonder if this has to do with AA not flying to Isreal to get around their former TWA employee lawsuit.
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MYK - Supports Arizona to democtratically pass laws for the state of Arizona
Rudy was the only hope in 08
2011 Election: Cons 40% - Nanos 38% Ekos 34%
Since this is all aviation related I thought I'd post my conundrum here...
I am a plane nut. Love watching them, reading about them, flight-simming them, everything...
YET...I have an irrational fear of flying. So much so that I don't fly unless I absolutely have to. Mostly it has to do with turbulence.
How can I break this?
May I suggest you contact a flight school and arrange for a Discovery Flight? You'll be right up front and have a chance to see how everything works and get the opportunity to fly the aircraft yourself.
Perhaps try to arrange it during the winter, as it tends to be smoother for flying than in the summer. Then again, bumping around in a little Cessna may just show you how turbulence isn't a big deal at all.
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Seriously though, I have lots of hours and I still have a niggling in the back of my brain when I'm flying. I also hate turbulence.
There's just something about putting your life in someone else's hands, and the fact that most commercial flight crashes are, well, catastrophic, that I think some fear is pretty normal.
It really is a safe way to travel, critical systems have redundancy, maintenance is highly regulated. Theres a reason air travel is expensive beyond fuel and taxes.
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May I suggest you contact a flight school and arrange for a Discovery Flight? You'll be right up front and have a chance to see how everything works and get the opportunity to fly the aircraft yourself.
Perhaps try to arrange it during the winter, as it tends to be smoother for flying than in the summer. Then again, bumping around in a little Cessna may just show you how turbulence isn't a big deal at all.
That would be really cool...maybe it's just a matter of feeling from the front what seems so mysterious from the back.
