For a cheap fare, would you fly in a turboprop?

The ATR72 they use on this route is one of the largest commercial turboprops with ~70 seats.

I'm pretty sure that we flew a turboprop from Nice to Geneva, and believe me, I'd remember if it was a horrible ride! I do remember the view over the Alps- just breathtaking.

Why not just ride the train from Munich to Venice? 7 hours, scenic, around €90 or less. You'd probably save the cost of the train in a lower airfare cost.

Have flown a turboprop at least three times from Lugano to Zurich over the Alps and it really isn't bad. I'm not even crazy about flying.

Both the ATR-72 and the ATR-42 are excellent. If you want a white knuckle ride, try taking a Chinese-made Yunan-8 from Luang Prabang to Vientiane in Laos during a thunderstorm.

I've done it lots of times between Geneva and Milan or Rome when coming to or from Boston. It all depends on the weather. Can be the longest hour of your life or a breathtakingly beautiful moment over the Alps.

the train is a good idea,too, but i do think the prop planes are even safer than jets when it comes to problems.

i have flown in them frequently across spain since one of the airlines here only has prop planes.. if that helps at all.

Give me a turboprop anytime, much more fun than flying in an anonymous metal tube

We flew from Munich to Venice in a turboprop. I don't care for flying and didn't have a problem.

Are you flying Air Dolomite? When we book this flight we didn't understand the name of the airline. We were calling it Air Del Monte, like the canned veggies.

Hi V,

>...DH hates flying...

I also suggest taking the train.

It is a very scenic ride across the alps.

I would definitely recommend the turboprop. I just flew last week from Frankfurt to Florence on Lufthansa turboprop and I slept like a baby the whole time. When I did wake up every now and then, the view was amazing, since the plane flies fairly low. I think it would be a mistake to take teh train because: 1) The plane ticket price from Denver to Munich is almost cerrtainly barely cheaper than the ticket with the last leg thrown in, meaning you'll incur an extra 90 Euro per person for the "scenic" train ride, which I've only taken at night, but would have to assume that for every minute of breathtaking view of the alps, there's 15 minutes of pitch-black tunnel. 2) I wouldn't waste a whole day's itinerary on train travel. If you really want to see the alps, work a visit into your itinerary. You're not too far in Venice. I'd rather spend 7 hour experiencing the Alps by foot, bike, and car, than through the window of a train. 3) Remember, they're Germans. When I went through the security check in Frankfurt, they frisked me front and back head to toe, then metal detected me from the bun in my hair to the soles of my shoes. She even did a manual inspection of my hair to make sure I had no concealed weapons in my bun, then opened my suitcase to inspect the olive oil bottle pourers I brought as a gift. If they're even half as diligent in inspecting your plane before takeoff, you'll be fine.

Take it. This is a really spectacular flight. I am not wild about turboprops in the US for various reasons, but this is unbelievably beautiful, and the airline is, as Shan333 says, almost anal in the care they take. You can look out the window (the ATR has a high wing) and practically see Heidi, her grandfather, and the goats!

If you hate flying, have your doctor give you some Ativan, take one, and enjoy the flight!

I did the return flight from Venice to Munich in October. Operated by Air Dolomiti with a codeshare agreement with United and Lufthansa. Very comfortable flight and surprisingly quiet as well. Very professional-don't worry.

It depends whether you are a nervous flyer or not. If you aren't I'd say go for it.

If you are, bear in mind it'll be a lot noisier than a jet aircraft and is also likely to be bumpier due to the lower altitudes at which these aircraft fly - even if the weather is good. I know I will probably be shouted down, but I would not really recommend any prop aircraft for the nervous.

I was very apprehensive about flying from Zurich to Venice in a turboprop, but I absolutely loved it. I liked the turboprop because it flew low, thus allowing me to have a better view of the scenery. But the scenery is great from the train too.

I wouldn't recommend it to the queasy or nervous traveller. I've done it many times on flights between the smaller cities in the American West, and it can be quite a bit bumpier than travel in larger jets. If you're neither of the above, no problem, go for it.

Of course I would.I flew to Chichen Itza in the first winds of a hurricane.
And I get motion sick and almost did on this.
Get there, enjoy.

I ordinarily love flying. And I've flown a turboprop only once - don;t know the model but there were at least 50 people on board.

I was convinced we would never get off the ground - I was getting ready to start flapping my arms - never mind any distance up in the air.

Suggest any other choice - train, car, hitch - anything.

Have taken these several times and have had absolutely no problems except for once. The turbulence was fairly bad on one of the flights - several people (including myself) were vomiting.

In spite of this I would definitely do it again because that one experience would be rare, I would think. The little four-seaters I have flown in are much worse.

I flew from Geneva to Venice last year in a turboprop, got some nice pictures of the Alps as I wasn't too hight.

My guess is that 'packed' flew Babboo Airlines, a fun airplane. The train time essentially took up a complete day, (see Gardyloo's comments)which we didn't want to do.

If you have plenty of time, go slow; if you're cramped for time go fast.

I've never encountered a European with this weird propellorphobia.

In western Europe, scheduled flights on propellor planes are almost universally flown by very modern, uncramped, planes designed for maximum fuel efficiency and for operating out of city airports. They are generally a great deal LESS noisy than most jets.

There are a few elderly rattlers (of the sort you find in America on commuter routes) operating very out of the way flights (like between remote islands), and I've come across these planes (not recently) in some ex-Communist countries, though even there, they're being replaced by proper ones.

So what happens is you turn up with an American colleague at an airport (like London City) where most planes are propellor driven, and discover him reacting like that elderly aunt you remember who swore they'd never get her on an Iron Horse. You're amazed, you ply him with drink, then observe the shock when he realises that here (unlike on the Oshkosah-Chatanooga flight he took once in 1973) propellor technology hasn't been frozen solid for the past 50 years.

It is not a matter of "cheap fare". Turboprops are just standard aircraft on less frequented routes. They are somewhat smaller than the "large" jet airliners, but otherwise "normal" planes. They fly as smoothly as jet airliners, no "bumpy rides".

There is nothing scary with turboprops.

Turboprop engines are even safer than jet engines.

I am old enough that my first trip to Europe was on a turbo prop and have since flown on turbo props countless times. They are fine. Depending on the manufacturer and configuration, they may or may not be noisier than a jet - the one you are considering is one of the quieter ones. Enjoy the view of the Alps. The quietest area is usually towards the rear.Anyone remember when first class was in the back?

If one's old - and perhaps wealthy - enough, he/she may have flown to Europe in a piston-engine aircraft, not turboprop.

In fact, most airlines switch their longhauls directly from piston engine aircraft (DC-7, Constellation, etc) to jets (707, DC-8); and skipped the turboprop (Britannia).

flanneruk says:
"I've never encountered a European with this weird propellorphobia"

I don't like flying them in the US because our weather is generally different to yours (at least until recently) -- sometime stormier but more often turbulent from convection owing to our hotter climate. Even when turboprops CAN fly over the weather, they are usually used here on short routes where they DON'T fly over the weather. A ride in an ATR over the Alps is a very different experience from the same flight over, say, West Texas in the summer. Better fly very early!

In addition, many (Beech 1900, Saab 340, for example) are very cramped inside and are a real problem for the claustrophobic.

You know, it's a good thing Orville and Wilbur Wright never posted about whether or not to fly on this board....we'd still be walking!

My first flight to Europe was with Icelandic airlines on a Canadair CL 44J turboprop. Most other, if not all, transatlantic airlines had already made the switch to jets and that is why Icelandic was cheap. It was a very nice and comfortable airplane. later, Icelandic switched to the DC-8.

Canadair CL44J = Britol Britannia licensed to be built in Canada. It is indeed a large turboprop.