The regional turboprop market turned heads at the 2023 Paris Air Show when ATR announced a flurry of firm orders, a clear market signal that airlines are revisiting turboprops for short haul connectivity. ATR reported 22 firm orders plus two options announced at Le Bourget, with customers including Mandarin Airlines, Berjaya Air and Azul among others. That commercial momentum is more than marketing spin. It reflects economics, fuel and emissions realities, and a route structure that still favors low speed, frequent-turnaround aircraft.

From the cockpit perspective the case for turboprops is straightforward. On missions under roughly 300 to 500 nautical miles a modern 70-seat turboprop converts fuel into useful transport more efficiently than a regional jet. That efficiency comes from propulsive physics: moving a larger mass of air at lower velocity is more efficient at the lower cruise speeds and altitudes typical of regional hops. It is why operators in Asia, South America and Europe still choose ATR types for thin routes, island services and short-turn feeds into hubs. ATR and its engine partner have also pushed incremental performance and sustainability improvements, including upgraded PW127 derivatives that offer measurable fuel and maintenance gains and compatibility with higher blends of SAF. Those technical steps reduce operating cost and shrink the carbon gap for airlines that need immediate, practical emissions reductions rather than waiting for speculative future propulsion.

A rising fleet count matters for safety too. More units in service means more crewmember currency in type, better distributed spare parts markets, and stronger MRO ecosystems. It also concentrates operational experience so best practices spread faster. But a renaissance is not a free pass. New build and secondhand ATRs entering service must be paired with disciplined execution of SOPs, fleet-specific training, and a maintenance regime tuned to turboprop idiosyncrasies.

The Yeti Airlines ATR 72 accident in January 2023 is a painful standing reminder that turboprops bring unique human factors and systems challenges as well as benefits. Early investigations and safety analyses showed that both propellers were put into feather at low altitude during final approach, leading to loss of thrust and an unrecoverable aerodynamic stall. The sequence highlighted ergonomics issues around pedestal controls, high workload during visual approaches, and the critical importance of rigorous sterile-cockpit discipline and configuration crosschecks. Those realities are operational facts any operator expanding or refreshing an ATR fleet must take seriously.

Operational takeaways for operators and crews

  • Treat configuration controls as non-trivial human factors items. The proximity and feel of condition levers relative to other pedestal controls must be respected in procedures and checks. Where a type rating, SOP, or operator procedure does not mandate a tactile or call-and-response crosscheck for critical lever movements, add one. The Yeti sequence shows how a single mis-grasp in high workload conditions can cascade rapidly.

  • Stabilized approach discipline is non-negotiable. Turboprops cruise and accelerate differently than jets and have less energy margin close to the ground. If final approach is unstabilized, the recovery plan must be immediate. That means early go-arounds and clear command authority for rejecting an approach. Crews must rehearse go-around profiles in the simulator until responses are automatic.

  • Train for system-specific failure modes. Auto-feather and other propeller protection systems are valuable but have operational consequences. Crews need scenario-based training that includes manual feathering events, inadvertent lever movement recognition, and recovery at various altitudes and weights. Simulator sessions that replicate high-workload visual approaches, runway environment distractions, or unfamiliar airports pay dividends when crews face real anomalies.

  • Maintenance, MRO and engine stewardship matter. PW127 derivatives have been improved, but turboprop engines and propeller gearboxes have maintenance items jets do not. Oil contamination, prop governor health, and time-on-wing planning are all critical. A strong, predictable MRO cadence prevents surprise removals and reduces the temptation to accept technical risk to keep aircraft flying on thin schedules.

  • Regulators and operators should consider ergonomics reviews. If a control layout creates a latent human factors hazard, a combination of labeling, guard design, procedural calls, and changes in training standards can mitigate risk without waiting for hardware redesigns. The quickest safety wins are often procedural and training fixes reinforced by practical simulator work.

What safety teams should monitor as fleets grow

1) Approach and landing loss-of-control risk. Short sectors mean many cycles per day and a lot of high-workload approaches. Fatigue management and strict stabilized approach criteria must keep pace with utilization rises. 2) Propeller and gearbox health. More cycles accelerate wear; preventive condition-based maintenance programs and robust sourcing for critical spares reduce operational pressure. 3) MRO capacity. A sudden spike in ATRs across a region strains qualified shops. Operators should pre-position contracts and training with OEMs and qualified MROs. 4) Type-specific CRM and SOP compliance. Human performance drives safety at 1,000 feet and below. The classic safe-airline indicators are data monitoring, flight data analysis, and a non-punitive reporting culture.

Bottom line

The recent commercial momentum behind ATR is sensible from an operations and emissions standpoint for many short-haul networks. Modern turboprops offer lower fuel burn on short sectors, compatibility with SAF programs, and attractive direct operating economics. That said, turboprops are not plug-and-play replacements for regional jets. They require respect for their systems, disciplined SOPs, targeted training, and maintenance regimes that understand propeller and gearbox realities. If airlines and regulators match aircraft orders with investment in training, MRO capacity and ergonomics fixes, the turboprop renaissance can deliver safe, affordable, and lower-carbon regional connectivity. If that investment does not follow the sales headlines, the same characteristics that make turboprops efficient can expose operators to avoidable risk. From my seat, that is the clearest measure of success: not how many firm orders you announce at an air show, but whether crews and maintainers get the resources they need to fly those ships safely every day.