When I spoke recently at the Regional Airline Association soiree in Dallas, (no, it wasn’t particularly a joyous gathering) one of the questions that came up concerned turboprops. Was it my opinion that the lowly turboprop could indeed be on the cusp of a revival?

I said yes for a couple of reasons.

Economics and passenger comfort. If you’ve talked to the folks at Horizon, you know that they simply love the airplane.

Guess the news is getting out. Last week it was reported that Continental is looking to replace some of its smaller regional jets with 24 Bombardier 70-passenger Q400 aircraft.

All I know is that Horizon loves them, and the people I know who have flown on the aircraft have nothing but good things to say about them.

Good news for Bombardier — which continues to sit on its hands, while Embraer eats its lunch in the 100-seat market.