Turned Off by Turboprops : Airlines: Passengers are griping as big carriers switch away from jets on some lightly traveled, shorter routes.

The only way to fly, as far as Patricia Pickus is concerned, is aboard wide-body jets with powerful engines and roomy cabins.

So imagine Pickus’ disappointment and shock to find a 34-seat turboprop airplane waiting to take her from Burbank Airport to San Jose last week. “We thought we were taking the big jet,” said Pickus, a Lancaster grade school teacher, as she looked in disbelief at the relatively small American Eagle turboprop.

A few months ago, American Airlines would have booked Pickus on a big jet to San Jose. But faced with sluggish passenger traffic, the airline scaled back jet service on the route and substituted less-costly turboprop planes operated by its American Eagle subsidiary.

American is not the only carrier to have turned back the clock on the Jet Age. To the dismay of many travelers fond of jet service, several major airlines recently have switched to smaller turboprops as the industry struggles to climb out of its money-losing slump.

“From the airlines’ point of view, I can see why they are doing it,” said Thomas Nulty, president of Santa Ana-based Associated Travel Management. But passengers “don’t like it. The (turboprop) planes fly a little lower and a little slower and the seats are smaller. I’m 6-4 and I just don’t fit well in these smaller seats.”

Turboprops have been put in service primarily on lightly traveled, shorter routes--about 450 miles and less--to smaller cities and airports. Airlines cut jet service to many of these destinations in the late 1970s after deregulation of the industry.

This time, however, airlines have reduced jet service after shrinking some of their poorly performing hub operations, said Harold Sirkin, a transportation specialist at the Boston Consulting Group.

In recent months, United Airlines passengers flying from Dulles Airport near Washington found themselves in turboprops. American Airlines switched to smaller aircraft on several routes from San Jose and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. Many Delta Air Lines customers flying through Dallas-Ft. Worth will soon be placed on small planes too.

“They just simply are not supporting jet service,” said Delta spokesman Clay McConnell of the various cities in Texas and Oklahoma. “There is very little alternative except for no service at all.”

Major airlines leave the job of flying turboprops to their fast-growing regional subsidiary carriers that operate under such names as American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express. In many cases, low costs permit regional carriers--which boarded 10% of all passengers last year--to fly more frequent flights than a major carrier and still turn a profit.

Meanwhile, the major airlines can free their jets to fly on lucrative long-distance routes or during peak times. After reducing jet flights from San Jose to other California cities, American started new long-distance jet service to Phoenix, Dallas and Austin, Tex.

But many passengers dislike the idea of traveling on turboprops, complaining about noise, cramped seating and turbulent flights. Many also perceive the turboprops as less safe than large jets.

After flying an American Eagle turboprop from Ontario to San Jose, one loyal American Airlines customer said he would rather fly a jet on Alaska Airlines or fly to Oakland on Southwest Airlines, said Jim M. Roberts, president of Uniglobe Regency Travel in Rancho Cucamonga.

“They just don’t want to fly on small planes,” Roberts said. “They won’t take them unless there is nothing else available.”

Often, there is no other choice when it comes to smaller cities and airports. For projects manager Steve Baldel of Parsons Co. in Pasadena, it’s either a noisy, 20-minute, connecting turboprop flight from Houston to Beaumont, Tex., or a tiresome two-hour car trip.

“You take it out of necessity,” said Baldel, who travels about three times a month to Beaumont on business. “They are very, very noisy. You have to get used to the noise in three to five minutes or it will drive you crazy.”

Civic leaders are no great fans of turboprops either. USAir, for example, upset officials in the central Massachusetts city of Worcester after announcing plans to drop jet flights and begin turboprop service in May.

“It’s a wounding of community pride,” USAir spokeswoman Susan Young said.

In order to improve their image and respond to criticism, regional airlines have invested in larger, more sophisticated and comfortable turboprop planes. American Eagle has spent more than $1 billion to buy 176 advanced turboprops that are larger and offer travelers a somewhat quieter ride, more standing room and collision-avoidance systems. American Eagle touts these new features to travel agents in a game show-like seminar titled “Regional Airlines 101.”

One regional airline--Comair--will soon begin flying a 50-seat passenger jet manufactured by Canadair that can travel up to 1,400 miles and offers the same level of comfort available on larger jet aircraft.

As for the safety record of regional airlines, the record is mixed. The fatal accident rate for regional turboprops of 31 seats or less has run four to five times higher than for major airlines that operate jets, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. However, regional airlines that carry passengers for major carriers claim that they are as safe to fly as their larger partners.

But still, the industry has failed to shake the “puddle jumper” image held by many travelers.

“It’s an uphill fight. We still face that resistance,” American Eagle spokesman Edward Martelle said. “We’ve come a long way overcoming that kind of bias. But people consider anything with a propeller as old technology.”

American Eagle will have to try harder to get Pickus, the Lancaster schoolteacher, to fly its turboprops again. Despite the many features of the 34-seat airplane, including a flight attendant, Pickus complained about the propeller noise, turbulence and tight seating.

“I was uncomfortable the whole time,” said Pickus of her one-hour flight. “If there is any way I can avoid using a turboprop, I will.”