Regional airline

"Regional Airlines" redirects here. For the Moroccan airline, see Regional Air Lines. For the French airline, see Regional Airlines (France).

Flight West was a regional airline operating in Australia in the 1990s

Regional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service. There are three ways for a regional airline to do business:

1. As a feeder airline, contracting with a major airline, operating under their brand name, filling two roles:
   1. Deliver passengers to the major airline’s hubs from surrounding communities (this is known as regional feed or regional traffic), and
   2. Increase frequency of service in mainline markets during times of day/days of week when demand does not warrant use of large aircraft.
2. Operating under their own brand, providing service to small and isolated communities, for whom the airline is the only reasonable link to a larger town. An example of this is Peninsula Airways, which links the remote Aleutian Islands of Alaska to Anchorage. In this role, the term commuter airline is generally used.
3. As an independent airline larger than an air taxi or commuter airline service, that operates scheduled point-to-point transit service under its own brand, that does not meet the descriptions above or fly larger "mainline sized" (over 100 seats) aircraft". Mokulele Airlines and the independently branded Expressjet Airlines operations to larger and medium size cities, would be examples of this type of operation in the U.S.

History

British Aerospace Jetstream 41 of the UK regional airline Eastern Airways

Regional airlines began by operating propeller-driven aircraft over short routes, sometimes on flights of less than 100 miles. In the early days of commercial aviation few aircraft had ranges greater than this, and airlines were often formed to serve the area in which they formed. That is, there was no strong distinction between a regional airline and any other airline. This changed with the introduction of long-range aircraft, which led to the development of the flag carrier airlines, such as British Overseas Airways Corporation and Trans-Canada Airlines. As the flag carriers grew in importance with increasing long-range passenger traffic, the smaller airlines found a niche flying passengers over short hops to the flag carrier's airport. This arrangement was eventually formalized, forming the feeder airlines.

Through the 1960s and 1970s, war surplus designs, notably the DC-3, were replaced by much more capable turboprop or jet-powered designs like the Fokker F27 Friendship or BAC One-Eleven. This extended the range of the regionals dramatically, causing a wave of consolidations between the now overlapping airlines.

In the early 1990s, much more advanced turboprop-powered, fuel efficient, and passenger friendly DC-3 type replacement projects such as the 19 passenger Embraer/FMA CBA 123 Vector and the 34 seat Dornier 328 were undertaken, but met little financial success, partly due to economic downturn in the airline industry resulting from the outbreak of hostilities when Iraq invaded Kuwait. Many of the regional airlines operating turboprop equipment such as Delta's regional sister Comair airlines in the United States set the course for bypassing entirely the regional turboprops as they became the first to transition to an all-jet regional jet fleet. To a lesser extent in Europe and the United Kingdom this transition, to notably the Embraer or Canadair designs, was well advanced by the late 1990s. This evolution towards jet equipment, brought the independent regional airlines into direct competition with the major airlines, forcing additional consolidation.

Although regional airlines in the United States are often viewed as small, not particularly lucrative "no name" subsidiaries of the mainline airlines, in terms of revenue, many would be designated major airline carrier status but they do not qualify for this status since the aircraft they operate generally seat less than 100 people.

Beginning around 1985, a number of trends has been apparent. Regional aircraft are getting larger, regional aircraft are getting faster, and regional aircraft are flying longer ranges. Most recently regional aircraft in the US have been getting slightly more comfortable with the addition of better ergonomically designed aircraft cabins, and the addition of varying travel classes aboard these aircraft.^{[citation needed]} From small, less than 50-seat "single-class cabin" turboprop, to turbofan regional jet equipment, present day regional airlines provide aircraft such as the higher capacity CRJ700, CRJ900, CRJ1000 series of aircraft and the somewhat larger fuselage Embraer E-Jets. Some of these newer aircraft are capable of flying longer distances with comfort levels that rival and surpass the regional airline equipment of the past.^{[citation needed]}

Historically important United States regional airlines

In the United States, regional airlines were an important building block of today's passenger air system. The U.S. Government encouraged the forming of regional airlines to provide services from smaller communities to larger towns, where air passengers could connect to a larger network. The first United States regional airline (then called a commuter airline) was Wright Airlines, founded by aviation legend Gerald Weller in Cleveland, Ohio. The airline was based at Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport, becoming the airport's first commercial carrier. Though airlines had come and gone from Burke over the years, Wright Airlines endured, and by the time the airline declared bankruptcy in the late 1980s, it was appropriately the last commercial airline to leave Burke Lakefront Airport. (Cleveland's commercial traffic has since been consolidated at the city's larger Cleveland Hopkins International Airport).

Some of the original regional airlines (then known as Local Service airlines) sanctioned by the Civil Aeronautics Board in the 1940s and 1950s include:

• Allegheny Airlines
• Bonanza Air Lines
• Central Airlines
• Frontier Airlines
• Lake Central Airlines
• Mohawk Airlines
• North Central Airlines
• Ozark Airlines
• Piedmont Airlines
• Southern Airways
• Southwest Airways (renamed Pacific Air Lines in 1958)
• West Coast Airlines

None of these airlines survives today; some airlines use these names today but are not the direct successors to the original airlines.^{[citation needed]}

Since the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, the US federal government has continued support of the regional airline sector to ensure many of the smaller and more isolated rural communities remain connected to air services. This is encouraged with the Essential Air Service program^{[citation needed]} that subsidizes airline service to smaller U.S. communities and suburban centers, aiming to maintain year-round service.

An alternative to some regional airline service may be the new Small Aircraft Transportation System^[1] initiative in conjunction with general aviation and VLJs (very light jets). With the introduction of air taxi VLJs, city pair links to smaller communities lacking regional connections could become more common.

Regional airlines today

North America

Many large airlines, especially in North America, have established operational relationships with one or more regional airline companies. Their aircraft often use the aircraft livery for the company they are operating flights for. These airlines can be subsidiaries of the major airline or fly under a code sharing agreement. An example would be the fully owned AMR Corporation's American Eagles Holdings Corporation regional subsidiaries "American Eagle Airlines" and Executive Airlines which fly under the similar American Eagle brand.

Characteristics of Regional Airlines

• Regional air taxi airline (carriers) fly and operate a fleet of aircraft with up to 9 passenger seats [2], and may or may not operate with its own airline brand or identity. Most usually aircraft are routed via the point-to-point on-demand or limited schedule transit models of aircraft routing.[3]

• Regional commuter airline (carriers)[4] fly and operate with their own ICAO or IATA codes, their own call sign, with a fleet of aircraft with 9-19 passenger seats, no flight attendant, non-stand up cabins, and function with or without an individual identity and brand, even though an individually operating certificated regional airline company. In many instances, the regional commuter airline may be owed by a conglomerate airline holding company, or may be a completely independent and individually owned regional commuter airline company. Most usually aircraft are routed via the point-to-point transit models of aircraft routing.[5]

• Regional feeder-airline (carriers) fly and operate with their own ICAO or IATA codes, their own call sign, and fly and operate aircraft with 9-99 passenger seats, without an individual corporate identity or brand, even though an individually operating certificated regional feeder airline company. In many instances, the regional feeder airline may be owed by a conglomerate airline holding company, or may be a completely independent and individually owned regional feeder airline company. Most usually aircraft are routed via the hub-and-spoke model of aircraft routing.[6]

• Regional airline carriers are federally operating certificated airlines which operate their own fleet of aircraft with their own brand, ICAO or IATA code, and their own call sign, upon a fleet of aircraft with 9-99 seats and always include at least one fleet of aircraft which requires a flight attendant. Typically aircraft are routed upon both the hub-and-spoke and the point-to-point transit models of aircraft routing.[7] This category of airline carrier, being independent of regional feeder-airline arrangements with major airline carriers, typically are not shaped or size / growth constrained due to scope agreements [8] in place with mainline carriers which the feeder-airlines supplement.

• Airline carriers operate their own fleet of aircraft with their own brand and identity, ICAO or IATA code, and their own call sign. Federally operating certificated regional airlines [9] are considered airlines. California Pacific Airlines is one of the newest airlines in the US, which observers may mistakenly call a regional airline because of its tendency to fly smaller under 100 passenger short haul aircraft.

• Major airline carriers operate their own fleet of aircraft with their own brand and identity, ICAO or IATA code, their own call sign, and operate at least one fleet of aircraft with more than 99 passengers upon their federal operating certificate. Major airlines have revenues greater than $1 billion [10] U.S. dollars in revenue during a fiscal year. Regional airlines are never considered major airlines although in many instances, the regional airline may be owed by a conglomerate airline holding company, and have revenues greater than $1 billion U.S. dollars in revenue during a fiscal year.[11][12]

United States regional brands

Larger airline holding companies, to improve their market penetration, rely on operators of smaller aircraft to provide service or added frequency service to some airports.

Such airlines, often operating in code-share arrangements with mainline airlines, often completely repaint [13] their aircraft fleet in the mainline airline's sub-brand livery. For example, Continental Connection regional airline partner CommutAir paints its entire fleet in Continental Connection colors. On the other hand, regional airline Gulfstream International Airlines paints none of its aircraft in Continental Connection colors. Colgan Air paints a handful of aircraft in their own Colgan Air colors, but most in the colors of Continental Connection, US Airways Express, and United Express, with whom it has contractual agreements.

Typical seat map of a smaller regional airliner as was often flown by the Express, Connection and Airlink brands of the major airlines. The smallest aircraft flown under such brands and regional airlines may or may not have lavatories, the typical signage for an aircraft's toilet.

Hyannis Air Service, owners of regional airline Cape Air, is also a Continental Connection code-share partner for Continental Micronesia, but at the same time runs a sub-branded fleet of aircraft for itself and Hyannis Air Service but under its own brand name of Nantucket Airlines. Many airline passengers find all this sub-branding very confusing, while many other airline passengers are content to think they are on a mainline or flagship airline's aircraft, while in actuality they are far from it. As described this sub-branding is pretty consistent throughout the airline industry of the United States, with all the regional airlines, mainline airlines, and the regional airline holding companies, as well as the mainline airlines holding companies participating.

Historically, one of the first independently owned and managed airlines in the entire world that was to rebrand its flying in another larger airlines image and colour scheme was Air Alpes of France. During 1974, Air Alpes painted its newly delivered short range feeder airliner regional jets into the colors of Air France. The success of the "rebranding" or "pseudo branding" of a much smaller airline into the name recognition of a much larger one soon became clear as passenger numbers soared at Air Alpes, and it was soon decided to paint other aircraft such as the Fokker F-27 into full Air France colours as well.

Among some of the more well-known advertising sub-brands used by the larger mainline airlines in North America are:

• Allegheny Commuter (defunct)
• America West Express (acquired, now operates as US Airways Express)
• American Eagle (extant, for detailed information about the brand refer to American Eagle, as discussed under Executive Airlines operations, and American Eagle Airlines code-share operations inherited from TWA Connection)
• AmericanConnection
• ATA Connection (defunct)
• Continental Connection
• Continental Express
• Delta Connection
• Frontier JetExpress
• Midwest Connect
• Midway Connect (defunct)
• Northwest Airlink (acquired, now Delta Connection)
• Pan Am Express (defunct)
• United Express
• US Airways Express

Among some of the lesser known smaller advertising brand used by the regional airlines and their regional airlines parent company are listed below. Many of these airlines have had contentious histories as has often been discussed in detail within the context of the d/b/a sub-brand or brands individual sections dealing with their holding companies or certificated airlines.

• go!
  • a regional airline brand of Mesa Airlines, itself a subsidiary of the regional airline holding company Mesa Air Group.
• go!Express
  • a regional airline brand, used in a codeshare arrangement by regional airline Mokulele Airlines for Mesa Air Group's, Mesa Airlines airline division known as go!
• PWExpress
  • a regional airline brand of the regional airline named Pacific Wings, IATA code (LW) which is owned by Pacific Air Holdings company.
• New Mexico Airlines
  • a regional airline brand of the regional airline named Pacific Wings, IATA code (LW) which is owned by Pacific Air Holdings company. New Mexico Airlines was set up to take over the Air Midwest flying dropped by Mesa Air Group
• Mesa
  • a regional airline brand used by the regional airline Air Midwest, a subsidiary for the regional airline holding company Mesa Air Group

Cessna 402C of Hyannis Air Service - Cape Air

• Nantucket Airlines
  • a feeder airline marketing brand operated by feeder and regional airline Cape Air which is wholly owned by the regional airline holding company Hyaniss Air Services.
• Pan Am Clipper Connection (Defunct)[14]
  • an airline brand operated by defunct regional airline Boston-Maine Airways for the airline holding company Pan Am System's.

United States regional airline holdings companies

Many small regional airlines have grown substantially, usually through the use of virtual mergers by use of the regional airline holding company as pioneered earlier by AMR Corporation in 1982. AMR created the AMR Eagle Holding Corporation^[2] which unified its wholly owned American Eagle Airlines and Executive Airlines under one division, but still maintained the regionals operating certificates and personnel separate from each other and American Airlines. Among the more significant of these airline holding companies are.

• Pinnacle Airlines Corp.^[3][4] "holders" of the airline air carrier operating certificates of
  • Colgan Air
  • Mesaba Airlines
  • Pinnacle Airlines
• Republic Airways Holdings^[5]
  • Chautauqua Airlines
  • Republic Airlines
  • Shuttle America
• SkyWest, Inc.
  • SkyWest Airlines
  • Atlantic Southeast Airlines
• Trans States Holdings^[6] "holders" of the airline air carrier operating certificates of
  • Compass Airlines (North America)
  • GoJet
  • Trans States Airlines

European regional airlines

CityJet is a European regional airline operating services on behalf of its owner Air France. This is a British Aerospace 146-200.

European regional airlines serve the intra-continental sector in Europe. They connect cities to major airports and to other cities, avoiding the need for passengers to make transfers.

For example, BA CityFlyer a regional subsidiary of British Airways uses the basic Chatham Dockyard Union Flag livery of its parent company and flies between domestic and European cities. In a slightly different category ExpressJet Airlines another regional carrier, but one which is independently owned and managed, although its 205 aircraft fleet operates in the marketing brand of Continental Airlines, Inc., Continental Express. In these roles, all of the preceding airlines are operated primarily to bring passengers to the major hubs, where they will connect for longer distance flights on the national airlines also known as flagship carriers's, larger aircraft. The smallest regional carriers have become known as feeder airlines. The separate corporate structure allows the company to operate under different pay schedules, typically paying much less than their mainline owners.^{[citation needed]}

Some of Europe's regional airlines are subsidiaries of national air carriers, though there remains a strong entrepreneurial sector of independents. They are based on business models ranging from the traditional full service airline to low cost carriers. Innovations include one where the passenger is required to join a membership club before being allowed to fly.

Some examples of European regional airlines include:

See also: List of regional airlines#Europe

• Air Nostrum
• Air Southwest
• Aer Arann
• Aurigny Air Services
• Blue Islands
• Cimber Air
• CityJet
• Eastern Airways
• Flybe
• Portugália
• VLM

VFW-614 of Air Alsace at Basle Airport in 1977

Asian regional airlines

SilkAir is the regional wing of Singapore Airlines and operates scheduled passenger services from Singapore to 37 cities in the region of Southeast Asia, South Asia and China. This airline differs from airlines in North America and Middle America in that it uses "mainline sized equipment" that is aircraft with a seating capacity greater than 99 passenger, but uniquely receives the designation of a "regional airline" subsidiary by its aforementioned airline parent company.

See also

• List of regional airlines
• List of commercial short-haul civilian passenger "regional" airliners
• List of commercial short-haul civilian passenger "regional jet" airliners

References

1. ^ "SATS & NCAM members continues to develop at Oshkosh AirVenture 2007". http://ncam-sats.org/Oshkosh07-NCAM.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-01. 
2. ^ "AMR Eagle Holding Corporation". http://www.hoovers.com/american-eagle/--ID__104090--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml. Retrieved 2007-10-01. 
3. ^ "Our Aircraft". http://www.pncl.com/our_aircraft.php. Retrieved 2007-10-01. 
4. ^ "Aircraft". http://www.flypinnacle.com/site/our_company/aircraft.php. Retrieved 2007-10-01. 
5. ^
   [1]
6. ^ Trans States Airlines :: Press Release May 24, 2005

External links

• Regional Airline Association (US)
• Regional Airline Partners (US)
• European Regions Airline Association (EU)
• Regional Aviation Association of Australia (Aus)
• Frontline - Flying Cheap - February 9, 2010. One year after the deadly crash of Continental 3407, FRONTLINE investigate the safety issues associated with regional airlines.