WestJet Airlines of Canada is considering the startup of a turboprop regional airline to run as a sister company to serve destinations that WestJet cannot serve today with its single fleet of 737 aircraft.   WestJet pretty much serves all the destinations it can with its current fleet and future growth in Canada will require a different, smaller aircraft.

Currently, many small towns and cities in Canada that can’t be economically served by a 737 are served by Air Canada and its regional airline, Chorus, with turboprops.   Fares on those routes are high and WestJet thinks it can lower prices and capture market share. 

The likely airliner to be chosen would be the Bombardier Q400 if only because of Canadian ties but I also think it would be a smart choice and it would mirror the kind of success that Horizon is having with the same airliner.

This would be an approach that I’ve long favored for Southwest Airlines.  The Q400 has the perfect economics for serving those small communities and the speed necessary to be useful on stage lengths under 500nm.  Most flights to such small cities are far less. 

It’s true that I’m an ardent fan of using the turboprop for this service and I think legacy airlines are ignoring the economics at their own peril.  An LCC carrier that operates a single fleet of Q400 aircraft for serving the smallest of cities and larger towns is quite likely to be able to earn large profits even in competition with major legacy airlines.   This same strategy would work perfectly for Southwest Airlines on flights to cities in the Texas regional area such as Lubbock, Amarillo, Corpus Christi and the like.  Frequency could go up and costs would go down.

The question is, will labor at such airlines tolerate the startup of such an airline?  Part of me says yes, part of me says no.  If there is a clear growth path for pilots to enter the business in the turboprop world and upgrade to the 737 at such companies such as WestJet and SWA, I think they might be willing to accept lower salaries for such flying.  If it keeps flying “in the family”, I think they may accept it.  But it has to be sold right and done with some good guarantees on its implications for existing flights using mainline aircraft.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax