Capital Airlines Lockheed Constellations. In 1955 they became the first U.S. operator of the British manufactured, four engine Vickers Viscount, the first passenger turboprop airliner. The Viscount propjets were deployed on the flagship Washington-Chicago route and the airline had planned to fly them on expanded service; however, Capital was mostly stymied by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). The CAB also refused Capital a requested subsidy. Still, Capital's passenger-miles in 1957 were 88% more than 1955. On November 14, 1956 a Capital pilot reported seeing a blue-white ball in the sky. The pilot, Captain William J. Hull, was a senior captain who
Regional airliner and British Aerospace ended production of their BAe Jetstream 41 after 100 delivered. By 2006 only the ATR 42/72 models and the Dash 8 remained in production. Turboprop airliner deliveries are correlated with oil prices with a lag of a few years. Another reason for the downturn in the turboprop market was the introduction of the first regional jets. Although a number of small jets entered service in the 1950s and 60s, notably the Sud Aviation Caravelle, Fokker F28 Fellowship and DC-9, these could not compete in terms of cost of operation with the turboprop designs, and were suitable for