»»Enhanced Safety Requirements for U.S. Commuter Airlines
A federal investigation into the crash of a Colgan Air commuter plane, that killed 50 people near Buffalo, New York, on February 12, has put the focus on safety problems of regional airlines.
Congress also is looking into the safety of regional airlines that fly the 30- to 90-seat planes. That means regional airlines could face lawmakers’ demands for costly operational changes.
Industry experts predict that there will be some increased costs for commuter airlines, especially associated with enhanced training requirements, maybe some different crew scheduling requirements.
Just over half of all domestic flights are operated by regional carriers in the United States.
More than 160 million passengers flew on regional airlines in 2007, up 40 percent from 2003, according to data from the RAA. About 75 percent of U.S. airports — 240 cities — are served exclusively by regional airlines. (source)
Bookmark this article!
