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December 2012 |
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Regional Horizons Fourth Quarter 2012 issue now available!
- A report on how various MRO facilities are handling an uptick in turboprop maintenance work
- RAA President Roger Cohen's reflections on 2012 activities and what lies ahead for the association in 2013
- Power Profile: Trans States Holdings President Rick Leach shares his thoughts on issues affecting the regional airline industry, as well as his strategy to maintaining this privately held company for the past three decades
- An update on the RAA-Washington State University pilot fatigue study
- A preliminary schedule of events to assist with your planning for the RAA 2013 Convention in Montreal
- Regional airline safety chiefs mark progress at Embry-Riddle meeting
- Click here to subscribe for a free electronic version.
Coming Up...
New RAA Associate Members for 2013!
Aerospace Precision
Arrowhead Products Inc, a Delaware Company
Headlines
Members in the News
Associate Member Invoices for 2013 are now available online!
RAA Convention News
Make your plans now...for 2013!
Industry News
Delta Air Lines Orders Up to 70 Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen Jetliners
Propeller Aircraft Come Back Amid High Fuel Prices
Industry Fights New-Pilot Mandates
Hideo Egawa Appointed as Chairman/CEO of Mitsubishi Aircraft, Succeeded by Teruaki Kawai as President/COO
Silver Airways Expands Intra-Florida Route Network
Comtek Announces Long Term Partnership With Pratt & Whitney
Regional Airline Chief Safety and Operations Execs Meet at Embry-Riddle
Bombardier: Republic Airlines Enrolls Record Fleet of 32 Aircraft in Q400 Smart Parts Program
Hawaiian to Open New Regional
Republic's Goals for Chautauqua Within Sight
Campbell County Signs Off on SkyWest Subsidy Deal
SkyWest and ExpressJet to Fly as oneworld Affiliates
Pinnacle Shuffling Minnesota Employees; HQ Decision Still Up in the Air
Airline, School Team Up to Provide Trip to 'North Pole'
Members in the News
Associate Member Invoices for 2013 are now available online!
Your company representative can login and view your company invoice and print out a statement to "pay by check" or simply pay online with a credit card.
Don't forget to update your company listing when paying dues:
There are two ways to update your listing:
1) All members have a company representative and/or a billing representative who has a login and password to access the listing. Login here and go to the RAA Home page and choose "update listing" (right above the Stop Air Tax logo) and follow each step. Don't know your login and password? You can have it automatically sent to you by clicking here.
2) Send changes to morgan@raa.org using this form
RAA Convention News
Make your plans now...for 2013!
Information on the 38th RAA Annual Convention is now available in the 2013 Exhibitor Prospectus. All the information you need to guide your way through maximizing your ROI during the convention.
Contact information, floor plans and a helpful checklist can be found here!
Industry News
Delta Air Lines Orders Up to 70 Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen Jetliners
Marketwire (12/06/12)
Delta Air Lines has placed a firm order for 40 CRJ900 NextGen regional jets from Bombardier Aerospace and has taken options on an additional 30 CRJ900 NextGen aircraft. The firm order is valued at approximately $1.85 billion, and could reach approximately $3.29 billion if the 30 options are converted to firm orders. The new CRJ900 NextGen regional jets will be configured with 76 seats in a two-class cabin and will be operated by Delta Connection carriers to be determined by Delta Air Lines. "We selected Bombardier's CRJ900 NextGen aircraft specifically because it is proven to be the most cost-efficient jet aircraft in its class for our operations and this regional jet satisfies perfectly the agreement that we have made with our pilots to add 70 more 76-seat jetliners to our fleet," said Ed Bastian, president of Delta Air Lines. "We have selected the CRJ aircraft for our restructuring plan based on the strength and reliability of their performance with our Delta Connection carriers over the years."
Propeller Aircraft Come Back Amid High Fuel Prices
NPR Morning Edition (11/28/12) Burress, Jim
Record-breaking fuel prices are compelling airlines to increasingly use propeller aircraft in an effort to reduce costs. One regional airline following this trend is Silver Airways, whose entire fleet is comprised of 34-seat Saab turboprops. Airlines replaced turboprops with faster regional jets throughout the 1990s and 2000s, back when jet fuel was about 87 cents per gallon. That price has since climbed by a factor of four. Turboprops consume less fuel, so flying a turboprop rather than a jet translates into a profit instead of a loss. Regional Airline Association President Roger Cohen expects turboprop use to subsequently increase. "After a steady decline in the ratio of turboprops to jets in the regional fleet, we've just seen here over the last year, year and a half, the first time that line started to move in the other direction," he observes.
Industry Fights New-Pilot Mandates
Wall Street Journal (11/28/12) Pasztor, Andy; Nicas, Jack
Airline industry leaders recently argued before Congress that congressional mandates to impose stricter training rules for new pilots could lead to a national shortfall of commercial aviators. The legislation at issue requires at least 1,500 hours of flying—six times the current minimum—before pilots can qualify for scheduled flights on cargo or passenger aircraft. Regional Airline Association President Roger Cohen says the pending rules "could actually harm safety" by further making would-be pilots scarcer. Although Cohen's organization is not lobbying directly to revise or delay the law, it wants to ensure that lawmakers understand the effect of the mandate on the looming pilot shortage. Airline industry officials want Congress to call for a Government Accountability Office assessment of the scope and timing of the coming shortage of new pilots just as the industry girds itself for thousands of mandatory retirements of older ones. A shortage is likely to be initially felt by regional airlines, which run approximately half of all U.S. airline flights, since they hire many of their pilots fresh out of flight school and typically function as the first recruiting stop to fill openings at major carriers.
Hideo Egawa Appointed as Chairman/CEO of Mitsubishi Aircraft, Succeeded by Teruaki Kawai as President/COO
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation (12/05/12)
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation has announced that current President Hideo Egawa will take up the positions of chairman and CEO effective January 1, 2013. Teruaki Kawai, currently the senior executive vice president, will succeed Egawa as the new president and chief operating officer.
Silver Airways Expands Intra-Florida Route Network
Silver Airways Press Release (11/27/12)
Silver Airways will further boost its intra-Florida network in January 2013 with the launch of two new routes: Fort Lauderdale-Orlando and West Palm Beach-Tampa. Darrell Richardson, CEO of Silver Airways, commented on the new service, stating: “For our customers in Florida, the continued expansion of our intra-state network presents a convenient, cost-effective alternative to driving benefiting both business and leisure travelers. We’re proud to be the number one carrier in our home state, and look forward to serving even more of Florida in the months to come.”
Comtek Announces Long Term Partnership With Pratt & Whitney
Comtek Advanced Structures Press Release (11/27/12)
Comtek Advanced Structures and Pratt & Whitney Canada have entered into a long term purchase agreement for the serial production of composite and hybrid structures for various Pratt & Whitney Engines. “Comtek and Pratt & Whitney are synergistic companies and have worked together before,” said Dennis Cicci, business development manager at Comtek. “We look forward to a mutually productive partnership.”
Regional Airline Chief Safety and Operations Execs Meet at Embry-Riddle
Aviationpros.com (11/19/12)
The Regional Airline Association (RAA) recently brought together top regional airline safety and operations officers to meet with federal safety regulators and assess the industry’s most recent safety advancements. Safety Council Chair Brad Elstad, Republic Airways vice president-safety & regulatory compliance, and Scott Foose, RAA senior vice president of operations and safety, underscored the measurable progress RAA member airlines have made in the past two years refining key safety programs. “We are pleased to be recognized this week as the segment of the airline industry that is evolving these programs faster than any other group,” said Foose. The event concluded with a presentation by Embry-Riddle Professor Daniel Friedenzohn, who noted “changes in the regulatory environment will generate higher demand for pilots” at a time when the airline industry is shifting domestic seating capacity.
Bombardier: Republic Airlines Enrolls Record Fleet of 32 Aircraft in Q400 Smart Parts Program
Avionics Intelligence (11/13/12)
Bombardier Aerospace has announced that Republic Airlines is the latest airline to enroll in Bombardier's Q400 Smart Parts cost protection program. The customized agreement, covering Republic's 32 Q400 aircraft, solidifies the agreement in principle announced earlier this year. The earlier agreement was made in conjunction with an exclusive maintenance contract for the same aircraft with work performed at Bombardier's award-winning Macon, Georgia and Tucson, Arizona service centers. The long-term Q400 Smart Parts agreement with Republic is customized for inventory management and expedient access to parts for its Q400 aircraft fleet.
Hawaiian to Open New Regional
AIN Online (12/04/2012) Polek, Gregory
Hawaiian Airlines’ parent company has begun the process of creating a new regional subsidiary to serve the Hawaiian islands of Molokai and Lanai with a used ATR 42 it bought in late October from Dublin, Ireland’s ASL Aviation Group. A separate purchase agreement between the two companies called for delivery of another ATR 42. Scheduled for launch early next year, the new regional airline potentially poses a threat to Island Air, which laid plans during the summer to double its capacity with a pair of leased ATR 72-212s and five ATR 42-320s.
Republic's Goals for Chautauqua Within Sight
AIN Online (12/04/2012) Polek, Gregory
Chautauqua Airlines is well on its way to meeting the restructuring goals set out for it by its parent company. Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford said the company will see some $45 million in cash flow improvements over the next five years, with an ultimate goal of $60 million in average annual cash flow improvements. These improvements will come in part from new capacity purchase agreements (CPAs) forged with companies like Delta Air Lines that will allow Chautauqua to extend the use of some of its leased aircraft. Bedford plans to have all of Chautauqua's currently idling 50-seat aircraft back into service by the end of 2012. In order to reach the $60 million goal, Bedford said the company would need to negotiate new contracts with several of its maintenance vendors and pursue "other business initiatives." Bedford said the regional jet industry will see several new opportunities arise in 2013 and 2014, but he predicted most regional airlines would remain cautious because of a current lack of profitable aircraft on the used market and an unattractive lease finance environment.
Campbell County Signs Off on SkyWest Subsidy Deal
Associated Press (12/05/12)
Campbell County, Wyo., commissioners have signed off on a $1.7 million subsidy deal to keep SkyWest Airlines flying between Gillette, Wyo., and Salt Lake City. The subsidy helps to ensure SkyWest will have a 5 percent profit margin after expenses for its flights between Campbell County and Utah. SkyWest averages 15 to 16 passengers on its 30-seat Brasilia aircraft. If more passengers buy tickets, the county and the state could end up paying less on the subsidy.
SkyWest and ExpressJet to Fly as oneworld Affiliates
The FINANCIAL (11/15/12)
SkyWest and ExpressJet will fly as affiliate members of oneworld on routes they operate as American Eagle. SkyWest will offer the full range of oneworld services and benefits on flights operated under the American Eagle brand from Los Angeles to an initial 13 destinations. ExpressJet will offer the full range of oneworld services and benefits on flights operated under the American Eagle brand from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to an initial 12 destinations. Under a franchise agreement with American Airlines, both SkyWest and ExpressJet will paint their aircraft in the American Eagle livery, with flight attendants wearing a navy blue uniform with American Eagle accessories.
Pinnacle Shuffling Minnesota Employees; HQ Decision Still Up in the Air
Memphis Business Journal (11/21/12) Ashby, Andy
While the location of Pinnacle Airlines Corp.'s new corporate headquarters remains toss up between Memphis and Minneapolis, there are strong signs the Memphis-based airline will choose the more northern of the two cities. Pinnacle CEO John Spanjers was previously president of Minneapolis-based Mesaba Aviation, graduated from the University of Minnesota, and has his primary residence located in Rosemount, Minn. Pinnacle CFO Curt Berchtold meanwhile recently wrote in a resignation email to his previous employer, Silver Airlines, "my wife and four kids miss Minnesota in a big way, and so I have accepted the CFO position with Pinnacle Airlines which will allow us to relocate back home." The Memphis airline issued a statement shortly after Berchtold's email was made public saying that the CFO would commute from Minneapolis should the new headquarters be located in Memphis.
Airline, School Team Up to Provide Trip to 'North Pole'
11Alive.com (12/05/12) Pearl, Matt
Every year ExpressJet Airlines works with Unidos Dual Language Charter School, where about 4 out of every 5 children come from economically disadvantaged homes, to take the top performing students Grades 2 through 5 to visit their own North Pole. The airline flies the schools best students an hour north to visit the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge, Tenn. The children visit different locations at the museum, and even receive a visit from Santa Claus.
Abstract News © Copyright 2012 INFORMATION, INC.
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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 28 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 | raa@raa.org
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