Review: Silver Airways ATR42-600 Turboprop

I flew Silver from Orlando to Pensacola a few years back. Overall it was a very pleasant experience. The all pink is very different, but I am kind of liking the new livery.

I flew Silver from Orlando to Pensacola a few years back. Overall it was a very pleasant experience. The all pink is very different, but I am kind of liking the new livery. Glad they kept the pink tail.

Thanks for this review, Ben. I find it curious how infrequently there is any discussion of turbo-prop air services in the US. Rex, Qantas and Virgin have a lot of services on Saab-340s, Dash-8s and ATR-72s (IIRC) respectively in Australia, some on capital city routes. It's just part of the aviation ecosystem that seems not to be common in the US. Perhaps it's just that in the US these services, such as Silver are not in the big 3 world.

This post just unlocked some memories for me: I adore TPA gate A1.

My second flight ever was in and out of that gate, going to Nassau via Ft Lauderdale on a prop plane. This was in October 2002, and I went with my father to a work conference. He was in meetings all day, while I got to enjoy the beach (and read Kate Chopin's The Awakening for school). When coming back, we were just a bit delayed going out of Nassau, so on the ground at FLL they held our next flight a few minutes and we were walked from the first flight to the next one on the tarmac.

At that point, I was very grateful to see that exact bathroom that you noted, since I didn't have an opportunity to hit a bathroom at FLL, and these prop planes were small enough that they didn't have a lavatory onboard.

More directly related to Silver: I've had an excellent experience every time I've flown with them, which was far more frequent when I lived in Tallahassee.

Great write-up, Ben. I fly Silver occasionally between Tallahassee and FLL and it’s always been a pleasant experience. Compared against AA’s regional jet service between TLH and MIA, the difference in flight time isn’t noticeable and Silver employees and contractors are noticeably friendlier. They tend to be a good deal cheaper, too. I think most people would be surprised how quiet the cabin is on these new ATR’s. It’s a world of difference from Gulfstream Air’s (Silver’s predecessor) old Beech 1900’s, which were much slower, much louder, and much smaller with 19 seats, no lav, and no flight attendant.

I think Silver still has a few Saab 340’s in the fleet, which are not as nice as the ATR’s, but I think they are mostly being relegated to island hopping out of SJU these days.

Silver has been around a LONG time. They used to be called Gulfstream.

I've flown them a few times out of TPA and it's generally been a pleasant experience. Happy to see some newer planes, though. As someone who has also made the drive from TPA-MIA more than I'd like to count, it's nice to have a bunch of options to S. FL. My husband's comment: "at least Silver is better than Continental Connection".....I had a very memorable Continental Connection flight returning from EYW during some weather once where there were literally alarms going off on the flight.....

Does Silver have any Saab 340's left in its fleet?

How refreshing to read a flight review 🙂 ! I've only flown Silver once, from St Kitts to San Juan, and they're really one of the only serious players for inter island flights in the Caribbean. I flew on one of their Saab 340 and was honestly a little nervous: it was either an extremely ancient aircraft, or not maintained very well and all sorts of parts of the cabin were falling apart. I could see some bolts on the engine as well that didn't seem super tight and were flailing in the wind, so yeah... not my best memory.

How noisy was the flight on a turbo prop? I'm also based in Tampa and am thinking of taking that same flight with a one-year-old in a few weeks.

I flew from Tampa to Charleston, and had a great experience! One tip, while the first row is an “exit row” with more leg room, the seat width is smaller and more restrictive due to rigid partitions, so I wouldn’t recommend it if you like to spread out more or for larger passengers.

Great Review! and I think the new livery is very sharp. Love Silver Airways route network and how well it connects so many smaller points in the Caribbean. Thanks Ben!

My understanding is if you are behind the engine, it is much quieter than if you are in the front of the plane. Better views too. I've only flown it once though.

I remember when we had a one year old we thought noisy planes were a good thing, in case our kid was noisy.

The photo quality is amazing. What camera did you use?

@ James -- That's kind, thanks! Just using my iPhone, which I use for all photos nowadays.
https://onemileatatime.com/iphone-11-camera/

They're being used in their intercaribbean network.

I usually fly from santiago to puerto rico and despide the fare is more expensive and i can siempre passenger, we get the worst airplane. I think we desee a better airplane for the cost we pay. Thanks

On one soon to LORD HOWE Island but have flown them several times in Australia.

Did they not arrest you for taking a picture HAHA. I remember that story

That's hilarious! I was on your flight, you caught my buddy and I walking the ramp in TPA

Brother Ben, don't leave us hanging! Did Big Front Seat Guy find true love in Lima??

Forget Emirates first class, one of the greatest joys left in commercial aviation is flying on turboprops. One of my all time favorite flights was thirty+ years ago on an Embraer 110 from FLL to EYW. The turbulence was memorably exciting, at least for me. Though, nothing will beat my flight on a PBA DC-3 from BOS to PVC way back in the 1980s. It gave a wonderful taste of what air travel was like in the 30s.

Definitely prefer the new livery. Not a fan of "loud" graphics, and the new livery is much more subdued.

Love that show! And I cannot believe that guy flew to Peru.

Back a couple a years ago we flew Silver Airlines to Dominica from Puerto Rico Good experience

Only done a turboprop twice. First time very disconcerted to be seated practically adjacent to the furiously whirring propeller! Irrational I know, but....
Second time was a flight DUB-EDI operated by a contractor to AerLingus. Preselected a seat well in front of the prop~ can never be too careful, hey!

It was horrible, the first flight the suitcases never arrived, the customer service sucks. All the counters at the airport are always closed unless there is a flight and from our airport there are not many on the same day. So they are no help. And on return flight my mom had a international connection with Copa and she was told she needed to pick up her suitcases at the carousel before going to copa counter. Well she never saw them and went to the copa counter well it was closed. She missed her flight and suddenly one of the Copa airline worker talked to my mom and said they had her suitcase. So she wanted her time looking for her suitcase and kissed her connection. They never answer my emails. They suck. Never ever ever again will use this airline.

The turboprop used have a problem if all seats are full. They can't carry the luggage for this many people, so baggage being delayed is a common problem.

Just a note--Silver Airways is an United Partner. I fly every week and buy my tickets through UAL.com. Advantage is the that these Silver bookings fall under new United's Change Rules if you cancel or change your flights. You may also use your United Flight Credits on the bookings. Also you can get United Miles and have access to the United Clubs. The United Clubs in MCO and FLL are great.

so good to read trip reports again! miss them. 🙂

I am so glad you had a great experience. I get frustrated every time I fly Silver Airways. I fly to Tallahassee at least twice a month and the flight is delayed most of the time anywhere from 30 min to more than 1 hr on most occasions. I am hoping for great experience with Silver Airways that I can with everyone one day.

Only Saab 340s are left in Puerto Rico and they are also being replaced by the new ATR 42 and the Larger 72

I flew Silver a few times (never by choice) and one of them was the worst flights I've ever been booked on.
The issue was the plane I was supposed to be on broke down and was the only one available.
Because there was no other plane, once we were finally be told the flight was canceled, I could have rented a car and driven to my destination of Fort Lauderdale... and that's not an exaggeration! It took over 8 hours to be told.
Plus being prop planes, the noise on board the planes was crazy loud. Even with earphones, I couldn't hear anything other than the planes noise.

Worst airline ever. Do not flight.

So what seat model are they

Excellent, detailed review.
Very helpful to me as I will be flying Silver for the first time. Departing my home base Tampa, landing in Greenville, SC to visit family.
Thank you very for this review with great photos!

That was the best travel description that I have ever read. The photos & editing were outstanding. After 66 years of flying as a pilot I want to fly Silver Airlines. Thank you for the great article.

I flew Silver about a week ago. At the Charleston airport everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming. The airplane was the cleanest I’ve ever been on. The flight attendants were kind and helpful. When we arrived in Ft Lauderdale is where it turned into a nightmare!!!!! My brand new luggage had been demolished! We were going straight on a cruise. I went to the luggage office in Ft Lauderdale the lady working there was in the office but the door was locked. When she saw me trying to get her attention she tried hiding behind the counter. Finally she opened the door and without even looking at the damage , she says they are not responsible and will not help me. The whole bottom of my suitcase was busted open!
After arriving back from our cruise we received notification that our flight was delayed. We are supposed to leave at 7 and arrive home at 5:30. Not sure if this was correct, tried calling airline and held for an hour. No one ever answered the call.

My recent roundtrip from Tampa to Key West, which I have made numerous times, was delayed 6 times going before it was canceled and 6 times coming back requiring me to purchase an additional full fare ticket. NO ONE answers the customer service number or calls you back. I was left stranded for 2 days in Tampa. I will never fly them again, everyone in Key West knows how unreliable they are. I am currently disputing my credit card charge. Horrible customer service and employees who basically are in the dark about what is going on.

Will never fly again. We were sooo delayed going to Jax from MSY. They canceled our trip from Jax back to MSY. Had to fly delta to get home. They broke a wheel off my suitcase and cracked it and said in a email they aren't responsible. Silver SUCKS! I won’t recommend them to anyone. I booked ahead with them for Father’s Day weekend, I want to cancel and see about a credit or them refunding me my money. that I will dread using but no one answers and when they call you back no one talks. Just a waste.

DO NOT fly Silver Airlines. I just got dumped in FLL after 12 hours of delays and no explanations. Other people in the FLL airport who were scheduled to fly to the Bahamas were going back home to wait at home. I rented a car and drove 5.5 hrs to JAX to pick up my car, and then another 1.5 hrs home. Would not recommend.

Silver Airways is one of the worst airlines. Avoid them! They cancel flights on a daily basis and pay to have negative reviews removed from places like Tripadvisor. Be aware and warned of this horrible airline.

That’s a great review. Thank you! We are moving my daughter into UWF Pensacola in about a week and flying home to Tampa when we’re done. Never flown silver before. My husbands military and has been traveling for a month. He’s meeting us in Pensacola with a big, full size suitcase And a very large backpack I saw in your review that a regular carry-on size fit in the overhead. Do you think he’s able to check his large suitcase? I sent him a message yesterday that we might have to ship his stuff home because I didn’t look like he could take that one. I can call the airlines, but I just thought I would respond to your post. Thank you for all the information you put in there. That was very helpful.

Recently flown this company this weekend. It was awful, every flight was delayed. They destroyed baggage and damaged the baggage. One flight didnt even have AC that worked. The steps to the plane entrance was very steep and short. it was almost a vertical climb. I will never fly again with them.

My daughter and I flew Silver Airways out of Greensboro to Orlando. It was our first time flying. Even though the plane for us was kind of tight, we enjoyed our flight. We got to Orlando earlier than we were suppose to but we were able to leave Greensboro a little early. I loved the fact that the plane wasn't to crowded because it allowed people to spread out into the empty seats.

I like the new livery better!