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2012 is off to a great start! We are entering the "all convention, all the time" phase of our year. We hope you will check our website regularly for updates on speakers and other exciting news as it is available. Remember- the RAA Annual Convention is the best and only place for the industry's leading decision-makers, buyers and sellers to do business. With our nonstop RAA Exhibit Hall central meeting place, attendees can choose from a host of RAA Committee meetings, forums open to exhibitors and associate members, and networking events in the Exhibit Hall and across the Convention site.

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Coming Up...


RAA announces plans for Winter 2012 Meeting

Embraer has graciously offered its Fort Lauderdale facility for the RAA Annual Fall/Winter Meeting. Details to follow, and mark your calendars for Monday, December 3 and Tuesday, December 4, 2012.
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Headlines


Members in the News
ATR posts its best commercial year in 2011
Atlantic Southeast Airlines and ExpressJet is now fully rebranded
Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines agree to terms with Teamsters

RAA 2012 Convention News
2012 RAA Convention News

On the Hill
House and Senate negotiators set to pass a four-year, $64 billion FAA Reauthorization bill

Industry News
Professional Aircraft Accessories Signs Landing Gear Support Agreement with ExpressJet and SkyWest
Cape Air Pilots to Vote on Contract
Great Lakes Aviation Comes to Jamestown
Silver Airways Launches New Maintenance Department
K-State at Salina Signs Agreement With Airline
Fresno to San Diego; Alaska Airlines Will Offer Flights Twice a Day
Adirondack Airport Boasts Big Growth and Faces Talk of Closure
Airport Increases Rates
Four Airlines Bid to Maintain Regional Maine Flights
Quincy Regional Airport Nearly Reaches 10,000 Departures
WestJet Considers Regional Airline Vs Air Canada


Members in the News


ATR posts its best commercial year in 2011

Posting its best commercial year in 2011, with 157 sales and an additional 79 options, ATR hosted its annual press conference in Paris January 18. Chief Executive Officer Filippo Bagnato noted ATR now holds 70% of the orderbook for regional aircraft with 90 seats or less.
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Atlantic Southeast Airlines and ExpressJet is now fully rebranded

Check out the new ExpressJet video highlighting how its 10,000 aviation professionals are now connecting 28 million passengers each year to more than 190 destinations across North America.
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Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines agree to terms with Teamsters

Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, have reached tentative agreement on a four-year pilot contract through March 2016. After 18 months of negotiating, the agreement governs schedules, pay and base bid rights for the airline's 160 pilots based throughout the US, Caribbean and Micronesia.
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RAA 2012 Convention News


2012 RAA Convention News

*Who do I contact for ______? A comprehensive contact and social media link page for all your convention needs. Contact Us!

*All new registration pricing for RAA's most "open" show ever! Registration will open by mid-February. Registration

*Book your rooms now! The beautiful Hilton Minneapolis will make a great home during the RAA convention. RAA rate is good through April 27. Hotel Information

*A yearly RAA tradition continues in Minneapolis .....Start thinking about joining us on Monday, May 21st! Golf Tournament

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On the Hill


House and Senate negotiators set to pass a four-year, $64 billion FAA Reauthorization bill

After 23 short-term extensions and five years of political impasse, House and Senate negotiators have agreed to a final version of the FAA Reauthorization bill. Key to this agreement was compromise on a controversial labor provision that would overturn a 2010 change in NMB union voting procedures. The compromise swaps the original provision, which would have overturned that rule change, for a provision raising the worker-interest threshold necessary for triggering union elections from 35 percent to 50 percent. The bill also requires a public hearing before any significant, future NMB rulings.

The bill is as significant for what it does not do as for what it does. RAA successfully worked to derail attempts to phase out the Essential Air Service program and is pleased that the bill upholds the program with certain eligibility tweaks. The bill also maintains the current PFC cap and does not impose a damaging, $100 per departure tax favored by the Administration.

The bill adds eight more long-distance slots at DCA and accelerates implementation of NextGen, forming a Chief NextGen Officer and requiring ADS-B Out avionics by 2020. The bill also codifies some of the passenger-relations provisions addressed in recent DOT rulemakings.

Under the EAS agreement, the program will be funded at approximately $190 million annually with new eligibility criteria prohibiting grants to airports within 175 miles of a hub airport with fewer than ten daily enplanements. Additionally, no new communities will be allowed to enter the program.

The House of Representatives approved the bill on Friday and the Senate has scheduled a vote for Monday evening.

RAA worked hard to protect member interests during this protracted battle and our success owes a lot to our members' and associate members' engagement and participation.
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Industry News


Professional Aircraft Accessories Signs Landing Gear Support Agreement with ExpressJet and SkyWest
Aviationpros.com (01/31/12)

Professional Aircraft Accessories has reached a definitive agreement with SkyWest to perform all required landing gear overhaul on its entire fleet of Bombardier CRJ-200, CRJ-700 and CRJ-900 aircraft. The agreement covers services required by SkyWest subsidiaries ExpressJet and SkyWest Airlines. Currently the combined entities operate more than 430 CRJ aircraft. “We are extremely pleased to be working with ExpressJet and SkyWest on this exciting program,” said Professional Aircraft Accessories President Robert Bial. “We are honored that ExpressJet and SkyWest recognized our extensive experience with CRJ landing gear as well as our ability to anticipate their needs on this complex program.”
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Cape Air Pilots to Vote on Contract
Cape Cod Times (02/02/12) Gold, Robert

Cape Air pilots will vote this month on whether to accept a four-year union contract, airline President Dave Bushy said Wednesday. The airline and the Teamsters union reached a tentative agreement Jan. 20 on the contract, the first ever for the pilots, Bushy said. A series of meetings will take place throughout February so various groups of pilots can vote on whether to ratify the agreement. Cape Air pilots voted in January 2010 to rejoin the Teamsters. An investigation by the National Mediation Board concluded in November 2009 that Cape Air CEO Dan Wolf compromised an election earlier in the year by endorsing the Cape Air Pilots Association over the Teamsters. Before the May 2009 vote to form an in-house union, the pilots had been represented by the Teamsters since 2006.
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Great Lakes Aviation Comes to Jamestown
KFYR-TV (North Dakota) (01/24/12)

The Department of Transportation had chosen Great Lakes Aviation to replace Delta Airlines in providing service to Jamestown, N.D. Delta had announced in 2011 that it would be ending its service to Jamestown and Devils Lake. Great Lakes has already begun providing service at Devils Lake, with two round trips per day to Minneapolis, which will increase to three per day by Feb. 1. Great Lakes Aviation plans to have 18 round trip flights per week available between Jamestown and Minneapolis by mid-March.
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Silver Airways Launches New Maintenance Department
Nassau Guardian (01/24/12)

Silver Airways is relocating its maintenance department from its home base in Fort Lauderdale to a new, 61,000-square-foot facility at Gainesville Regional Airport. "This move is another important step forward in our drive to become the number-one regional airline in the country," said Silver Airways CEO Darrell Richardson. The state-of-the-art maintenance facility is located on the airport's southwest quadrant, where the hangar accommodates Silver Airways' fleet, including the Saab 340B plus and the Beechcraft 1900D.
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K-State at Salina Signs Agreement With Airline
Salina Journal (KS) (01/20/12)

Pilots who graduate from the flight program at Kansas State University in Salina will have an inside track on employment with American Eagle Airlines thanks to an agreement between the school and the company. The "bridge program" agreement guarantees job interviews with the airline for all qualifying graduates. Kurt Barnhart, the head of the school's aviation department, says the program is an excellent opportunity for students looking to work in commercial aviation. American Eagle will benefit by having a steady stream of qualified applicants, reducing recruiting costs.
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Fresno to San Diego; Alaska Airlines Will Offer Flights Twice a Day
Fresno Bee (CA) (01/19/12) Sheehan, Tim

Alaska Airlines is expected to increase its presence in Fresno by offering nonstop flights between Fresno and San Diego starting June 4. The twice-daily round trips are part of a series of new routes that Horizon Air will start over the course of this summer. Other new flights include San Diego-Monterey, San Diego-Santa Rosa, and San Jose-Reno. ExpressJet was the last airline to fly between Fresno and San Diego, from May 2007 to September 2008. ExpressJet says high fuel prices were responsible for financial problems that forced the cancellation of the flights.
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Adirondack Airport Boasts Big Growth and Faces Talk of Closure
North Country Public Radio (01/16/2012) Mann, Brian

A new debate is underway over the future of the Adirondack Regional Airport near Lake Clear in Harrietstown, NY. Traffic at the airport is growing, but state and local officials say cost overruns, mismanagement and a lack of political support for the airport could threaten its future. Last year, more than 11,000 passengers rode Cape Air’s commuter flights to Lake Clear – outpacing traffic to much larger communities like Ogdensburg and Massena. The state Comptroller’s office recently issued a report suggesting that Harrietstown officials had mismanaged the airport. Budget shortfalls at the airport over the last two years forced Harrietstown officials to approve double-digit property tax increases to cover the gap. Town supervisor Larry Miller said Harrietstown will now push for more neighboring communities to support the airport, or they will begin the process of shutting it down or downsizing its operations.
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Airport Increases Rates
The News-Star (01/13/12) Alladi, Amritha

For the first time since 2005, Monroe Regional Airport in Louisiana will be increasing rental rates, landing fees and baggage conveyor fees charged to airlines. The rate increases are not expected to dissuade airlines from using the airport. The Monroe City Council plans to introduce three ordinances for the city to approve the airport's new lease agreements with Delta Air Lines, United-Continental and American Airlines. Locally, these three operate regional carriers Atlantic Southeast Airlines and ExpressJet, Colgan Air and American Eagle, respectively. Interim Airport Director Ron Phillips told city officials that the agreements establish new rates that the airport will charge the three airlines for the next five years. He said the increase in rates will recover the cost incurred by the airlines' increased use of space at the airport.
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Four Airlines Bid to Maintain Regional Maine Flights
Boston Globe (01/09/12)

Four airlines have submitted proposals to maintain service to airports in Presque Isle and Bar Harbor in Maine, including Cape Air. Three of the airlines--Air Choice One, Peninsula Airways, and Sovereign Air--have submitted bids with the U.S. Transportation Department to operate service to and from Northern Maine Regional Airport in Presque Isle and the Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport. Cape Air has submitted a bid to operate service to and from Bar Harbor only. U.S. Senator Susan Collins, ranking member of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, announced the airlines' submissions on Jan. 8. Collins says it is important to maintain safe and reliable service to both locations for the economic well-being of the communities.
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Quincy Regional Airport Nearly Reaches 10,000 Departures
Quincy Journal (IL) (01/06/2012) Gough, Bob

Quincy Regional Airport (QRA) in Quincy, IL, saw more air traffic in 2011 than in any other year of the past decade. Airport manager Marty Stegeman says QRA finished 2011 with 9,248 passengers flying on Cape Air's Quincy to St. Louis flights, up from 7,795 passengers in 2010. Stegeman says the airport could have hit 10,000 passengers departing if not for whether-related problems that canceled flights for a couple of days. The airport also saw 8,780 people arrive during 2011. Stegeman says the overall 2011 passenger mark is the highest number since 2002, and that he is confident the airport will reach 10,000 passengers in 2012, which will enable QRA's annual federal subsidy to increase from $150,000 a year to $1 million a year.
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WestJet Considers Regional Airline Vs Air Canada
Reuters (01/16/12)

WestJet Airlines may launch a regional, short-haul airline as early as 2013, putting the company head-to-head with Air Canada on routes to smaller destinations in Canada. WestJet said it expected to hold talks with employees through January on the plan. Calgary-based WestJet was started in 1996 as a low-cost airline modeled after Southwest Airlines, and until now has operated a single fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft on routes within Canada and to warmer destinations in the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The new carrier would operate with 40 turboprop planes. It is currently unknown which aircraft will operate them, but there is market speculation that it may be the Q400 turboprop made by Canadian company Bombardier.
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About RAA
With safety as its highest priority, RAA represents North American regional airlines, and the manufacturers of products and services supporting the regional airline industry, before the Congress, DOT, FAA and other federal agencies.

With more than 13,000 regional airline flights every day, regional airlines operate more than half of the nation’s scheduled flights with nearly 75% of US airports relying on regional airlines exclusively.

Founded in 1975, Washington, DC-based RAA also provides a wide array of technical, government relations and public relations services for regional airlines. The association's 30 member airlines and nearly 200 associate members represent the key decision makers of this vital sector of the commercial aviation industry.

For more information on Regional Horizons e-NEWS contact:
Regional Airline Association | 2025 M Street, NW | Suite 800 | Washington, DC 20036-3309
Tel: 202/367-1170 | [email protected]