ATR 72 Vs Q400
ATR Vs Dash8 Q300/400 has been an oft repeated debate and till now I have never been satisfied with the explanations given by the various parties coz quite often it turns out people have experienced operating only one of the two above said aircraft types.
As for me i am baised towards the ATR 72-500 for obvious reasons. From the operators i have heard that it is a pretty economical aircraft for short sectors with QTAs. ATR 42/72 currently happens to be the only successful turboprop operating in India with various airlines. The Dash 8 Q series has never made an appearance in India.
However it is with great interest i watch a head on contest between both the aircraft types in the Philippines. Cebu Pacific operates brand new ATR 72-500s whereas PAL express operates a mix of Q300s and Q400s (By the way the Q400s are the Ex SAS aircrafts). The aircrafts often compete on the same routes and from what i heard both the types are load penalised to a particular destination (Caticlan) due to restricted runway length and obstacles in the vicinity.
Late 2007 i heard about the PW-127M for the Cebu ATRs which suppossedly would be the answer to address the issue at the said airport but still the aircraft is load penalised. (and so is the Q300/400!) ATR is right in saying that a lot depends on the engine manufacturers for its new variants/models -700/900.