REGIONAL AVIATION NEWS :: MAY 26, 2008

XJT Capacity to Drop 30 Percent
In an effort to cope with the current fuel environment, ExpressJet will decrease capacity beginning August 23 by about 30 percent from its summer schedule. "Our fall schedule reduction is partially offset by adding service in short-haul routes," ExpressJet's President and Chief Executive Officer...

American Eagle Capacity to Decline by 10-11 Percent
AMR is retiring 35 to 40 regional jets as well as an unspecified number of turboprops as part of its efforts to cope with rising fuel costs that reached $135 a barrel on Wednesday. The move is coupled with the retirement of at least 40 to 45 mainline jets, mostly MD-80s but also some Airbus A300s. AMR...

Sukhoi Superjet Takes Flight
Sukhoi’s SSJ100’s made its maiden flight yesterday for a 90-minute flight over its testing base at Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia. The aircraft was captained by Alexander Yablontsev, chief pilot of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, and a test pilot Leonid Chikunov who took it through its paces including...

Russian, Chinese Certification for ERJs, Market Analysis
On the eve of its first delivery to Grand China Express, Embraer received certification, from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for the operation of the ERJ 190 and 195 in mainland China. The certification followed Russian certification of the ERJ 145. The ERJ 170 and 175 will be certified...

Regional Profit Margin Halved in Q4
Regional carriers reported a 3.6 percent operating profit in Q407, down from a 7.5 percent profit margin in the fourth quarter of 2006. The seven regional carriers reported a $93 million operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. This operating...

RAA Opposes Slot Auction
The Regional Airline Association (RAA), whose member airlines operate 50 percent of the nation’s scheduled flights, fly 40 percent of the commercial passenger fleet and carry more than one of every five domestic passengers, predicts the DOT’s auction will make flying to New York even more...

DOT Announces Flight Delay Measures, Names VP-Modernization
The Department of Transportation is re-opening the Holiday Express lanes created last Thanksgiving and Christmas, as part of its efforts to address delays this summer. It cut a new agreement with the Department of Defense to make four routes available off the eastern seaboard for commercial airline flights...

RAA Joins Consumer Energy Alliance
With skyrocketing fuel prices posing a severe threat to regional airlines, which provide the sole source of scheduled airline service to 70 percent of our nation’s commercial airports, Regional Airline Association President Roger Cohen and VP-Legislative Affairs Faye Malarkey joined with the Consumer...

Nearly 60 Percent of Professional Pilots Fail LOC Tests
After 50 percent of commercial pilots and nearly 75 percent of general aviation pilots failed to recover from Loss of Control In-Flight (LOC-I) upsets, APS Emergency Maneuver Training, a division of Aviation Performance Solutions LLC (APS), developed unique training to help pilots cope with the leading cause...

Hybrid Airlines Edging out Traditional LCCs
A new breed of “hybrid” carrier is quickly overtaking traditional low-cost carriers (LCCs), according to a study released by Sabre Airline Solutions which reveals that more passengers travel on a new breed of “hybrid” carrier than on traditional LCCs. The global study of 540 airlines...

Quick Takes – Porter, Midwest/NW, Embrear, BBD, Rockwell’s Helgeson, Pacific Wings Flight Safety
Porter Adjusts EWR Sked As a result of FAA-imposed restrictions at Newark, Porter Airlines lost two weekly roundtrips forcing it to implement an updated schedule as of June 20 for its Toronto City Center Airport-Newark route. The new schedule is effective for the summer season and features six return flights...