What do you get for 600 kilograms of aviation fuel? Answer – a trip across the English Channel from Cardiff with Aer Arann or a short taxi down the runway at Heathrow in a Boeing 747.

Aer Arann, says the future of short haul flying is spinning around at 1200 per minute. Turbo prop power is a revolution in air travel that makes environmental sense.

The airline industry has been at the forefront of recent debates about saving the environment and carbon emissions. The emergence of low-cost airlines has fueled the fire and despite the British Airlines Pilots’ Association (Balpa) citing commercial flights are responsible for only 3% of carbon emissions, the environmental activists are still insistent.

Campaigners want people to take fewer flights, however the sanctity that the once yearly holiday offers means even those with a strong environmental mindset are unwilling to give up flying.

For a journey of less than about 600 nautical miles, or 90 minutes flying time, a turboprop uses up to 70 per cent less fuel than a similar-sized jet. Aer Arann has recently invested €180 million in a new fleet of ATR 72-500s and by 2009 the entire Aer Arann fleet will be brand new lower emission craft.

Said Colin Lewis, Head of Sales and Marketing at Aer Arann: “Once condemned for the relatively noisy and bumpy ride it offered passengers, the ATR is a popular equivalent to regional jets.  They are more fuel efficient, the new planes are quieter and they are extremely reliable. I expect to see a large percentage of the airline industry moving back to propeller planes over the next five years.”

A representative at ATR commented: “Turboprop aircraft are currently outselling regional jets. Overall, the impact that the rising cost of oil is having on airline profits has helped to lift turboprop sales to about 400 last year, compared with about 250 jets in the same size bracket. We expect to see sales to continue to rise significantly as currently there is no other alternative to the ATR in the market place.”