Originally Posted by
Crossunder
Yeah, but with an A320 you'd have only one departure instead of two! There's an advantage to offering high frequency, which is possible with the Q400.
Correct. That's why I say it's not a question of size but of yield, or market. As a network carrier, you need optimized schedules, which fit mainly for C-class pax. They pay the big money, Y-class is just to fill up the remaining seats.
LCC need volume, so minimal costs per seat. This is done by relative big aircraft. For a LCC customer, ticket price is king, departure time not so important.
That's why they would choose an Airbus/Boeing, while the network carrier would subcontract an "Express" with a turboprop or an RJ.
Concerning reliability, I think it's common that new tech has more snags than old one. Those turboprops with very powerful engines will always suffer more problems, caused also by vibration. I don't know the Q400 very well but have long experience on Saab 2000, were we had exactly the same problem.
Dani