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Aviation History
1987
1987 - 0008.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT Regional airlines' independence is threatened WASHINGTON D.C. Top of the list of concerns which emerged at the US Regional Airlines Association conference was the rapid absorption of regionals into the newly formed airline conglomerates which have been scrabbling to secure access to established feeder markets, reports Julian Moxon from Washington D.C. Some believe the domi nance of the "mega-carriers" threatens the very existence of a separate commuter airline industry, despite soothing words from Continental Airlines' president Thomas Plaskett. "The regionals are buffeted by turbulence," he said in a lunchtime speech, "but it is clear that their growth and long-term health are vitally important to the airline industry". All agreed that only the fittest will survive what one observer called the "bone rattling" changes taking place throughout the industry in the wake of airline deregu lation. The top scandal, which broke just before the convention, aptly reflected the fears and tensions within the industry. Moves by the Air Transport Association (the large carriers' club) to create a Regional Airline Service Programme aimed at combining certain functions of the RAA and the ATA ended in the abrupt resigna tion (some claim dismissal) of long-serving RAA vice- president Tulinda Deegan. The idea had been to appoint Deegan as v-p, regional airline services, within an ATA division functioning primarily to improve regional airline safety and services. Industry support for the plan was strong, since it would have given the regionals a much-needed voice within the ATA. The RAA would have had to give up many of its present functions, however, and it resisted the initiative all along, sticking to its oft-stated "This is just the beginning" The de Havilland Canada Dash 8 Series 300, rolled out last week, is the first new DHC product since Boeing took over the company. But DHC reports progress in other fields too: the DHC/Shorts of Belfast memorandum of understanding signed at Farnborough last year over joint development of a new commuter is beginning to bear fruit. The companies say they are "agreed on the basic parameters for the new aircraft", and that it will be at the "low end" of the passenger range, but with a "widebodied cross-section". It is likely to be pressurised. A launch decision could be taken later this year, which would put the product on the market in 1991. policy that two Washington- based lobby organisations were better than one. All that new RAA chairman Donald Young would say publicly at the convention was that Deegan's resigna tion had been accepted by president Duane Ekedahl. "Tulinda was a very valuable employee, and her pro grammes will continue," he said. On a more functional level, the RAA agreed three resolu tions at a meeting during the convention. It decided to support full Federal Aviation Administration certification of simulator training and checking programmes. "Use of these devices is long overdue and must be made available to regional airline operators using aircraft with 60 or fewer seats," it said. The RAA also reaffirmed its stand on the introduction of microwave precision land ing systems (MLS) at locations where such equip ment would improve safety, or increase airport capacity. "Further, the RAA is directed to convey its sense of urgency over the MLS programme to Congress, and to urge that it be restored to full funding status, and that Congress direct the FAA to proceed with the second buy on an expedited basis." Young explained that "we want MLS work to be revitalised. Many member carriers are ready to buy the aircraft equipment now", adding that costs would tumble when systems were bought in quantity. Finally, the Association continued to push for a reduc tion in what it calls the "safety gap" in the air traffic control and air navigation services at small commercial airports served by regionals. It wants at least $30 million released from the Aviation Trust Fund to purchase and instal needed equipment "to afford passengers a consistent level of safety such as that provided to passengers using our nation's largest commer cial service airports". Another important issue currently before the RAA, and causing increasing concern at the National Transportation Safety Board, is the urgent need to instal some sort of flight data recorder (FDR) in regional aircraft. The RAA hits the ball into the FAA court: "We need a performance standard from the FAA," said Young. "They need to define the number of parameters that need to be recorded, what type of recorder to adopt, and whether they ought to be retrofitted to existing aircraft or only installed in new." NTSB chief Jim Burnett noted recently that the Detroit accident in which a Fischer Bros Casa 212 crashed was the fifth in two years in which the lack of CVR (cockpit voice recorder) or FDR seriously hampered the Board's investigation. A member of the NTSB told Flight at the convention that the technology for smaller, lower cost data recorders was already there. He thought money ought to be released from the Aviation Trust Fund to develop a prototype system, and to encourage production. The RAA's annual report, released at the convention, noted that despite the worries 1986 was the safest year in regional airline history, and the seventh in eight years in which the record has improved. "Regional airline accidents declined from 61 in 1979 to 17 in 1985, despite a 100 per cent increase in airline operations during the same period." Looking at operating statis tics for the year compared with 1985, it found that while the number of regional airlines operating in 1986 held steady at 179, the number of passengers carried by this segment increased by 9 per cent, to 28-4 million. Average trip length declined from 173 miles in 1985 to 158 miles in 1986. The reports say the decline is tied to the increase in the number of code-sharing agreements among the regional airlines and the larger carriers, and the use of shorter hub/spoke route segments. The number of code-sharing agreements has increased from just nine in 1983, to 71 in February this year. Forty-five of the top 50 regionals had code-sharing agreements with the majors in 1986, it says. 6 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 4 April 1987
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