just an idle thought ...
while working out the cost of purchase, and amortization, a DHC-8, for example, or an ATR, with a few years of use, (there are a lot of these idling around with the lessors .. ) and selling them off, will still work out cheaper than the chinese MA 60s, considering the resale value, and with the severe weight restrictions of the MA 60 ..
Sorry, I cant figure out how cheap purchase works out to profit, when running an airline.
On the other hand, people like air force dont care about cost of running, as long as the job gets done.