Why aren’t low budget airlines, for example Ryanair using turboprop in short haul flights from Dublin to Liverpool (Just an example, it’s about 200km) not using Turboprop but optin in using a Boeing 737?
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A jet engine produces thrust from the jet of exhaust it expels. A turbo fan uses energy from jet’s a turbine wheel to drive an additional fan wheel up front that drives large volumes of cold air around the engine, which produces thrust more efficiently. A turboprop uses energy from a jet’s turbine wheel to drive a grearbox and propeller, which produces lots of thrust at low speed.
Jet and turbofan engines are most efficient at high subsonic speeds (0.8 to 0.95 Mach), but are very inefficient at lower speeds.
Turbo props cannot travel nearly as fast as jets or turbofans, but offer lots of efficient thrust at lower speeds, which is ideal for commuter aircraft that make shorter trips at comparatively lower altitudes than airliners.
Having said that, there is significant overlap in economic efficiency between specific aircraft models. Despite being powered by turbofans, the 737 has proven itself quite efficient at economically moving high passenger volumes over short/medium distances.
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