The observation from Prague reflects a genuine structural shift in European short-haul aviation that has been building for over a decade, driven by economics that are more nuanced than a simple "jets got cheaper" narrative. Turboprops like the ATR-42/72 and Dash 8 series retain a meaningful fuel-burn and trip-cost advantage over regional jets on stage lengths under roughly 300-400 nautical miles, which should make them ideal for routes like Prague-Vienna. What has changed is not that turboprops became less efficient, but that the competitive landscape around them shifted. Legacy European carriers and their regional subsidiaries have consolidated fleets around commonality, and many have exited the turboprop business entirely in favor of mainline jet operations or have simply reduced short-haul frequency as rail alternatives (particularly high-speed and improved conventional rail in Central Europe) absorbed price-sensitive short-hop traffic. Airlines like Austrian, LOT, and others that once ran dense turboprop networks have either merged fleets into Star Alliance/SkyTeam feeder arrangements using jets, or cut back regional turboprop flying as part of broader cost restructuring.
The A220 specifically has been a disruptor in this space in a way that older regional jets like the CRJ or older E-Jets never were. Its unit economics on stage lengths of 300-600nm are genuinely closer to a large turboprop's than to a legacy narrowbody's, thanks to geared turbofan efficiency and a lighter airframe optimized for exactly this mission. Airlines operating the A220 (Air France, Swiss, airBaltic, Delta) have found they can run it profitably on routes that would traditionally have gone to a Dash 8 or ATR, while offering passengers a full jet cabin experience, better ride quality above weather, and higher cruise speed that matters more on longer intra-European legs than on a 45-minute Prague-Vienna hop. For network carriers, the calculus also includes crew and maintenance commonality: operating a single jet type across short and medium-haul route networks eliminates the cost of maintaining a separate turboprop type rating, spares inventory, and dedicated maintenance capability, which for many airlines outweighs the per-trip fuel savings of the turboprop.
For working pilots, this trend has real career implications. Turboprop flying has historically been an important stepping stone into airline careers in Europe and elsewhere, and its contraction narrows that pathway, pushing more first-officer hiring directly onto regional jets or mainline narrowbodies. It also means turboprop type ratings (ATR, Dash 8, Saab 340 in some markets) carry diminishing utility outside of a shrinking set of operators, mostly in markets with genuinely short stage lengths, high-frequency island or remote service, or unpaved/short-field requirements where jets simply cannot operate — Norway's Widerøe network, Scottish island services, and various African and Southeast Asian carriers being examples. Pilots building time on turboprops in those environments should recognize the type is increasingly a specialized niche rather than a universal stepping stone.
This mirrors a broader pattern across commercial aviation: the middle ground between "small regional aircraft" and "mainline narrowbody" has been squeezed from both directions. Manufacturers like Embraer and Airbus have pushed jet economics down into stage lengths and seat counts once considered turboprop territory, while at the same time route rationalization, rail competition, and pilot shortages have made airlines reluctant to operate a third or fourth fleet type just to serve short regional sectors. ATR has responded by emphasizing its environmental and cost advantages on true short-haul and thin routes, and there remains a durable market for turboprops in geographies where jets are genuinely uneconomical or operationally unsuitable. But in dense, well-connected markets like Central Europe, the trend Reddit users are noticing in Prague is likely to continue: turboprops surviving mainly on niche, low-density, or infrastructure-constrained routes, while A220-class jets absorb the rest of what used to be regional turboprop territory.