American Eagle to replace turboprops at Tweed with regional jets, effective Nov. 29

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register) ¬ A U.S. Airways Express commercial aircraft boards passengers at Tweed-New Haven Airport Thursday afternoon, April 27, 2017. ¬ (Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register) ¬ A U.S. Airways Express commercial aircraft boards passengers at Tweed-New Haven Airport Thursday afternoon, April 27, 2017. ¬ Photo: Peter Hvizdak / ©2017 Peter Hvizdak Photo: Peter Hvizdak / ©2017 Peter Hvizdak Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close American Eagle to replace turboprops at Tweed with regional jets, effective Nov. 29 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN — The era of “puddle jumper” commercial turboprop flights out of Tweed New Haven Regional Airport is over, effective Nov. 29.

Here come the jets!

American Airlines will begin exclusively using Canadair RJ 200 regional jets — which are larger and faster than their predecessors — on its American Eagle routes between Tweed and Philadelphia International Airport on Nov. 29, a spokesman for the airline confirmed Thursday.

The airline is phasing out the Bombardier Dash 8 turboprop airplanes that currently serve Tweed.

“This is correct, as we continue to modernize our fleet and retire older aircraft,” said American spokesman Ross Feinstein. “We are proud of our service to Connecticut, which includes service to both New Haven and Hartford Bradley.

“I think it is exciting that we’re going to finally have jet services,” said Tweed New Haven Airport Authority Chairman John Picard Wednesday after the Tweed Authority meeting at which the upgrade was announced.

“I’m buoyed by this news, and by what it signals in terms of Tweed’s viability,” said Mayor Toni N. Harp. “These new planes will still have strictly limited range, but with each takeoff and landing they’ll make the case for runway improvements and additional destinations to be reached from New Haven.”

The change will mark the first time commercial jets have served Tweed since Delta Connection’s short-lived service between Tweed and Cincinnati ended in early 2006 after less than two years in operation and is expected to make it easier to get people to consider flying to and from.

“A lot of people don’t want to fly turboprops,” said city Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson. “They want to fly jets.

“There’s just always been a perception somehow that (turpoprops) are not as safe ...” Nemerson said. With a regional jet, “it’s more of a big-league ride,” he said.

“We’re really excited about it,” said Tweed Authority Executive Director Tim Larson. “We’ve had some good conversations with American.”

The change in planes will bring a 35 percent increase in capacity in and out of Tweed, with three 37-seat Dash 8s each way being replaced by three 50-seat Canadair regional jets each way, said Airport Manager Diane Jackson, who announced the change.

“I think our biggest thing now to prove to American is to show that we can fill this plane,” Jackson told the authority.

American Eagle’s New Haven flights had an average load last month of about 77 percent, Jackson said. The average load was a few percentage points lower earlier in the summer, she said.

“We’re going to have to work hard, obviously,” Jackson said. “They’re coming in in what would be considered our (slowest time) of the year, being November through January. They’re aware of that.”

Tweed is working on a marketing plan to promote the change of aircraft, she said.

“It’s good that American is making the investment in this particular model because we needed a small plane in order to deal with the Philadelphia trip,” said Nemerson.

He said it’s a good thing “that even with the limited takeoff capacity” at Tweed “that American’s willing to stick with us and ... stay with the market.

“It shows confidence that American has in the marketplace ... and I would hope that they would still have confidence that we’re going to continue to work to get the additional ... feet of runway” so that American can eventually fly to destinations such as Washington D.C. or Chicago, Nemerson said.

He was referring to efforts currently in federal court in Hartford, where Tweed has sued the state to try to overturn a state statue that limits Tweed’s runway length to the current 5,600 feet. Tweed officials currently are awaiting the judge’s decision.

The airport’s goal is to eventually pave a 1,000-foot runway safety area — originally constructed with the understanding that it would not be paved — in order to extend the usable length of the runway to 6,600 feet.

While the jets will not be able to initially fly out of Tweed fully loaded — there will be weight restrictions because of the short runway and a few trees and other obstructions that remain in the approach to the runway — it’s important to show the community that they can fly successfully and without neighborhood issues, Nemerson said.

“These are quality planes. They’re quiet ...” he said. “They’re not things that are going to negatively impact the neighborhood.”

To accommodate both the bigger airplanes and the greater number of passengers expected, Tweed is looking to either replace or rehab the existing jet bridge, which was installed to accommodate the Delta Connection flights, said Jackson.

The Delta Connection flights also were on Canadair regional jets.

Larson estimated the cost to rehab or replace the jet bridge at between $350,000 and $700,000 and said officials have been in touch with the state Department of Economic and Community Development to see if any grant possibilities exist.

To accommodate the increased number of passengers, Tweed also may reopen the second floor in its main terminal, which currently isn’t being used, which would involve some cleanup work, said Jackson.

mark.zaretsky@hearstmedia

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