goldelite8

I have NEVER flown a non-jet aircraft but it looks like a Q400 will be my only option for an upcoming trip. I guess I'm a little apprehensive after last year's incident but what are your personal experiences with a Q400?

FT Lurker

Having flown both types on a recent MR, I thought the Q400 was more comfortable than the RJ145

Anglo Large Clawed Otter

I've had about a half-dozen flights on them, on various carriers, and survived each flight. I also survived flights on a Tupolev, and Let 410 Turbojets operated by dubious Honduran airlines. I'll let you know how my upcoming flight on a Bolivian 727 goes.

You'll be fine.

golfingboy

It will be fine.

Colgan's Q400 is really nice, the seats are comfortable [better than Y on CO IMO].

cova

Personally, I much prefer the RJ over the Q400. I just do not like props in general - too slow, and fly at lower altitudes and bounce around more.

The Q400 seems too bloated - just looks like too many seats for the small wing span. I have a return trip from Europe on CO this summer, and to avoid the Q400 - my routing to get from EWR to DCA is EWR-CLE on a 73G in F, and then an RJ from CLE to DCA.

Steph3n

Really not true, the Q400 flies about the FL and only a few knots slower, hardly something noticeable.

zippypinhead

"I have NEVER flown a non-jet aircraft..."
Gheeeeeze... That's a real fast-track pilots program. Most guys start out on props.
If I remember, the causes of the Buffalo crash were basically:
Not having situational awareness. (inattention) And, a failure to recover from a stall/spin event. Not a good day for anyone involved.
What you need to keep in mind is that the guys up front don't want to die any more than you do. I suppose you just have to hope their training and skills are up to the job.

Yoshi212

I flew on a Q400 ewr to buf in November to see some friends. This is the route where the crash happened. I was quite nervous since I went down in a prop plane in Canada when I was 18 yo and since have avoiding this type of situation until November. It was fine. The only complaint I had was the old maid across the aisle who was complaining the entire time about the noise the props made. Yes they're louder but she was louder than the props so I leaned over and told her that I can still hear her over the props so they can't be that loud. She didn't like me.

EWR764

By most accounts, the Q400 is a great bird. I am friendly with one Colgan pilot (former USAF) who believes it to be an outstanding, forgiving, pilot-friendly airplane. On the inside, it's not much different from a CRJ.

For flights like EWR-BOS where your in-air time is less than an hour, they are perfectly adequate, though Colgan flights are the first ones to get canceled in the event of inclement weather.

Last year's accident was the tragic result of a number of factors converging at the worst possible instant (as most crashes are), but hardly any of those considerations were directly attributable to the design, maintenance, or build quality of the airplane. As for the crew issues, that's a topic of discussion I'd rather not broach. I have confidence in the professionalism of Colgan's flight crews.

WIRunner

if the flight is over 45 minutes buy a pair of noise canceling headphones. It will be the best purchase you'll make.

Anglo Large Clawed Otter

This is true if you fly regularly at all. I used to think they were silly until I bought a pair.

Steve GadFly

Much like everyone else said, the Q-400 is perfectly fine and you shouldn't let the Buffalo incident scare you away. The Ethopian plane that went down over the weekend was a 737 but, while very tragic, it won't make me book away from that plane type.

According to my FM, I've got 44 segments on Dash-8's (not all Colgan Q's but most of them) and I can tell you that if you want to be subjected to the least amount of engine noise, stay away from rows 8 - 12 (closest to the props). Also, the last 2 rows, while they're quieter, have slightly less pitch so if you're tall they might not be the best idea either.

If you're Plat or Gold, try to book 1B...you'll have infinite legroom, you'll be the first one off the plane, and you can chat up the FA if you like.

One word of warning though: if the FA is training someone or being proctored by a senior on that flight, you'll be removed from 1B and put wherever they want to stick you. I've had that happen only twice but it was a royal bummer both times.

blackjack-21

We flew the Q400 from EWR-YYZ last year, and found it compares well to the E145 on short hops. Not too bad if you're sitting further in front of the engines then close to them, but obviously not as quiet as the jet, and the slightly larger interior then the E145 feels less claustrophic, as the Q400 has 2+2 seating versus the 1+2 on the E145, and has a higher ceiling. Seems like CO now has them on all flights on the EWR-YYZ route, while the southbound trip has both the E145 or Q400 choice. No more mainline a/c from YYZ to either IAH or EWR, and a three and a half hour flight to IAH on an E145 is, to put it mildly, a pain.

bj-21.

hughw

Try flying CapeAir's 9 passenger Cessna's in the Caribbean.

channa

It's not the Q-400 that I'm afraid of. It's Colgan, the operator.