Citing a new potential new family of turboprops by Bombardier (BBD), Aircraft Value News, RAN’s sister publication, predicted demand increasing for current turboprops until successors are developed.
The market for the turboprop has undergone a rapid change, it said. No longer seen as the poor relation, the turboprop is once again viewed as the mainstay of many fleets, offering a cost-effective solution for price-sensitive travelers and for operations to smaller airports. With new interiors passengers at last get jet amenities.
Bombardier is reportedly reviewing its options for a new family of turboprops built around the Dash 8-400Q. Smaller variants as well as a larger example are being contemplated although such new products are at the earliest stage of development or even consideration.
While a new turboprop introduction may be exciting, it may cause problems for values. The improvement and stability of turboprop values has, in part, resulted from the absence of a successor, suggesting, with adequate support, existing models would last for many more years. The introduction of a new model would upset that assumption and could weaken values much earlier than now anticipated.
The lease rentals of turboprops in general have continued to show improvement as a result of generally sustained demand and only limited availability. While there are some 7,500 turboprops in service, production is running at perhaps a 100 a year or just over one percent, the highest for a number of years. Contrast that to the jet market where the fleet numbers some 18,000 and production last year amounted to over 1,000, or over five percent. The turboprop fleet is also aging in view of the large number of aircraft delivered in the 1980s. The imbalance between supply and demand is therefore particularly evident although some types, generally the smaller, continue to be available in quantity. The conversion to freighters is soaking up some of the excess. For an in-depth analysis see the May 14 issue of Aircraft Value News.