Beginning September 2, Silver Airways will begin nonstop Saturday flights from Tampa International Airport to Greensboro, N.C. This route will be of particular interest to aviation fanatics as it becomes the longest scheduled turboprop passenger service in the contiguous United States.
Air passengers who frequent Tampa’s airport are no strangers to Silver Airways and the airline’s turboprop planes. Silver also flies from Tampa to Bimini, North Eleuthera, Freeport, Great Exuma, Nassau, Freeport and Marsh Harbour in the Bahamas. Domestic destinations include Key West, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Pensacola, Tallahassee, Jacksonville in Florida, along with Charleston, S.C., Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., Savannah, Ga., and New Orleans, La.
Silver operates a fleet of ATR turboprop planes, which are commonly used at lower altitudes and for shorter routes. Turboprops generally seat fewer passengers, typically less than 100. While these plans have propellers, they still have a jet engine, but the jet turns the propeller instead of a fan. They’re considered more economical than regional jets, which some of the larger airlines have turned to in recent years.
