TrueNoord Insight: Propeller Aircraft Market Report 2026 – Current and Future Technology

The full report can be downloaded from here.

TrueNoord has published its new and fully updated overview of the propeller aircraft market. The report primarily covers the ATR42, ATR72 and Dash 8-400, with an additional in-depth analysis of future generation aircraft.

Angus von Schoenberg, TrueNoord Industry Officer, explains, “This report examines both current generation turboprops and future generation aircraft. Future generation aircraft, apart from the D328eco, will be all battery electric, hybrid or potentially hydrogen powered. This means that for all electric and hydrogen powered aircraft, the powertrains will not be turboprop engines. The common thread for all aircraft covered is that they are propeller driven. Accordingly, the term turboprop is replaced with propeller in the report title to appropriately capture its contents.

“Previous Turboprop Reports (June 2020 and April 2023) provided an overview of the 48-90 seat turboprop market primarily covering the above referenced ATR42/72 and Dash 8-400. This revised and updated report will continue to focus on the ATR72-600 and Dash 8-400 but will also comprise a more in-depth assessment of many future generation commercial regional propeller driven aircraft. This report does not attempt to cover every future generation aircraft. Rather it describes a representative selection of the more well-known projects in different size categories. (Short range urban air mobility projects often referred to as eVTOLs are excluded).

“The main future technology aircraft under review include:

• Future variants of current generation aircraft including the ATR EVO, which plans to adopt mild hybridisation to enable an electric power boost for take-off and climb.
• Pure and hybrid electric powered aircraft ranging from 5-9-seaters by Beta Technologies, Vaeridion and Electra, the 19 seat Aura ERA, and the 30-seat Heart Aerospace ES30 up to larger aircraft proposed by Evio, Maeve and Elysian. Hydrogen powered retrofit programmes for current generation turboprop aircraft by ZeroAvia.

“Given that TrueNoord observes that a number of existing airlines, and other possible operators including logistics companies, are considering small capacity electric or hybrid electric aircraft for short missions to connect points that have lost service over recent decades, this report will consider all sizes of fixed wing ‘electric Conventional Take-Off and Landing’ (eCTOL) aircraft suitable for passenger or cargo transport. This report also references the only next generation, conventionally-powered Deutsche Aircraft D328eco.

“For the in-service aircraft types, this report will examine both aircraft’s characteristics, applications, market penetration, and operating economics as well as addressing the current dynamics in values of these aircraft, which continue to see some variety of values from the appraisal community.

“With respect to future technology aircraft, the report will examine their characteristics to the extent that these are known, their possible timelines for entry to service, technical, and certification challenges remaining. Any publicly available operating cost data available will be reviewed along with a review of the commitments placed so far by potential operators.”

9 June 2026