In April we talked about how airlines were trying to lose weight to cut down on their largest expense which is fuel. Now, these airlines are trying something new. They are taking a step back and are now buying turboprop airplanes instead of jet powered planes. A ride in a jet is probably smoother and faster but it’s a lot more inefficient regarding fuel compared to turboprop planes. They would be saving as much as 30% of the fuel per seat. Larger turboprop can be used instead of smaller jet planes to carry more passenger and save even more. One of two companies that still makes turboprop planes, Bombardier in Canada saw a jump from 24 planes in 2006 to almost 100 in 2007.

Jet fuel prices now are just under $4 a gallon and that’s up almost double from what it was a year ago and if these prices stay high, I think you’ll see a lot more airlines gravitate to orders for these new turboprop planes. With the airlines pulling down services to cities, eliminating cities altogether, if this is the only way they can get there, I think they’ll be satisfied to fly them.

So from now on, make sure you check for companies that use turboprop planes when you’re buying your tickets.

Via: AutoBlogGreen and Treehugger