Regional airliner

A regional airliner or a feederliner is a small airliner that is designed to fly up to 100 passengers on short-haul flights, usually feeding larger carriers' airline hubs from small markets. This class of airliners is typically flown by the regional airlines that are either contracted by or subsidiaries of the larger airlines. Regional airliners are used for short trips between smaller towns or from a larger city to a smaller city. Feederliner, commuter, and local service are all alternative terms for the same class of flight operations. To keep short routes economical, airlines preferred using second hand aircraft than costlier new aircraft. Older aircraft were put into short haul service as they were replaced by new longer-range designs. Propeller aircraft of larger airlines were transferred to smaller airlines: even the De Havilland Dragon Rapide biplane, or the Douglas DC-3s, in large surplus after the war, which the Aircraft manufacturers wanted to replace. The first piston powered airliners with 40 seats were the Martin 2-0-2s (introduced in 1947) and Convair CV-240s (1948). The first turboprop powered aircraft emerged like the Vickers Viscount (75 seats, introduced in 1953) and Fokker F27 (48–56 seats, 1958). Some smaller turboprop airliners were developed in the 1960s like the British Shorts Skyvan (19 seats, 1963), and French Nord 262 (29 seats, 1964) or Brazilian Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (1973). This "hand-me-down" process of supplying aircraft continued with designs like the Convair 440 and Douglas DC-6 also serving in this role while the first jets were introduced. By the mid-1950s, demand for even more economical designs led to the production of the first custom feederliners. These were almost always turboprops, which had fuel economy on par with piston engine designs, but had far lower maintenance costs. Often the time between engine overhaul periods was five times that of the best piston engines. Early examples of these designs include the Fokker F27 Friendship, Avro 748, and Handley Page Dart Herald.

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Related concepts (9)

ATR 72

The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (Avions de transport régional or Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed by French aerospace company Aérospatiale (now part of Airbus) and Italian aviation conglomerate Aeritalia (now Leonardo S.p.A.). The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 passengers.

Regional airliner

Narrow-body aircraft

A narrow-body aircraft or single-aisle aircraft is an airliner arranged along a single aisle, permitting up to 6-abreast seating in a cabin less than in width. In contrast, a wide-body aircraft is a larger airliner usually configured with multiple aisles and a fuselage diameter of more than , allowing at least seven-abreast seating and often more travel classes.