Waitlisted

I think it’s a chicken and egg situation - what comes first the flights or the flyers? I‘m PDX based and travel a lot, and most of my flights are full or nearly full. It seems to me many nonstop options have gone away as Alaska has taken the aircraft away to defend its Seattle operations. As a result nonstops from PDX to anywhere on any airline are super expensive when compared to other cities like SEA and SFO, SJC. Many of the flights remaining are often on 175s, sell our fast and I’m betting some of those will go away to support other destinations as the 400s are retired before being replaced. Honestly I feel PDX is prime for WN or even DL to take over while AS looks the other direction, WN just added more flights from EUG to SAN for instance as there is no longer a connection via PDX.

dliesse

Won't miss them, myself. Exactly 100% of my lifetime flights on Dash-anythings have been dodging thunderstorms, an unpleasant experience magnified in a small plane. The seats are too narrow for my comfort, as well (the size of my middle is probably my fault -- I can't determine any medical reason for it -- but I was born with broad shoulders and they're still wider than the rest of me!).

rustykettel

I actual used it as a destination, though I usually didn't mind an extra 1000 miles round trip on connections. Very convenient for regional trade shows and conferences that were at PDX hotels.

Switching from Q200 to Q400 didn't just kill frequency, it killed service to a number of smaller airports even with EAS support. I suspect the same will happen again.

philemer

Won't miss 'em.

Intl359Widget

Is anyone on FT interested in a Q400 Retirement DO?

jrl767

yes *400

PDXPremier

Just had another flight switch from an E175 to Q400 in November on the SEA-PDX route so perhaps they are moving their E175s to other routes while they still have Q400s to fill the gap.

jsguyrus

It looks to me like they have really increased the SEA-PDX frequency. I did a random look on Monday 9/12 and see 27 AS/QX flight to Portland from Seattle.

PDXPremier

I remember back during the "web specials" they had PDX-EUG for $59 one-way so I took a day trip down there and back....there was only one other passenger on the flight which was a Q200. I still wish I would have been able to fly the Metroliner from PDX to Salem while that route still existed.

PotomacApproach

I fly the E175 more than any other plane and this news is part of the reason I've decided to come back to MVPG, especially as I plan more flying out of STS.

985X

If you still want to fly Metroliner, fly to Denver and take Denver Air Connection

jrl767

do they go to Taos? LAX-Taos on a Dornier 328 and a Metroliner up to DEN would be an absolutely *FANTASTIC* trip

storewanderer

Finally getting rid of the Q400s?

There were a few things I sort of liked. Entering and exiting from both sides of the plane was great. I liked leaving the carry on for them to deal with and picking it up at the gate. Also the views out of the plane as many have already mentioned.

I've been on the E175 quite a few times now and they are very nice though, certainly a smoother ride than the Q400 and more quiet.

If this results in a loss of some routes/less frequency I think it is a net loss. I say that as a RNO based traveler. Maybe it isn't as big of a deal for those based in SEA.

sltlyamusd

I never minded flying the Q400 on short flights like between SEA-GEG, PDX, EAT, YYJ etc. The problem for me was using the Q on longer flights, such as SEA-YEG, BOI-LAX, LAX-LTO, SEA-FAT, SEA-STS, not to mention their deployment to other routes that were operationally inappropriate for the Q, like ANC-FAI in the winter. No window shades (on the older planes), no recline, no WIFI or IFE, and a lav with no running water were all problematic on longer flights. Also, having a Q400 go mx and cxl at an outstation (which happened to me multiple times) was very frustrating. But, the free beer and wine were a nice "consolation prize" for having to put up with these minor hassles.

Personally, I will be sad to see them go, particularly as I enjoyed the takeoff performance and lower cruising altitude on flights in the PNW. To preserve service, they could keep a small fleet of 15-20 Q400s, solely based out of SEA, just for flying short hops, but I understand why economies of scale don't support it.

StevenSeagalFan

End of an era.