How Regional Jets Are Affecting Travel – The Good
& the Bad
Across North America, regional jets (nicknamed RJs)
are taking off—literally. With as many as 70 seats, wider aisles,
decent headroom, and more overhead space, RJs are being heralded as
a quieter and more comfortable alternative to turboprop commuter
planes.
In addition to the comforts, RJs are providing
fliers with more scheduling options, and in many cases, more
competitive fares. RJs seem to be the darlings of the aviation
industry right now.
People Pleaser and Money
Maker
Passengers want to fly on jets rather than on
turboprop planes, and airlines are responding enthusiastically to
passenger demand. “It’s a lot quieter and smoother ride in the RJ,”
said Mel Coffman, a senior industry manager from Augusta, Georgia,
who travels weekly on business. “The seats are bigger, and there’s
more space to stow your carry-on luggage. I just prefer the RJ to
the turbo props—you get there a lot quicker and more
comfortably.”
The likelihood that you’ll fly on an RJ on your
next short flight is increasing. Currently, there are some 560 RJs
in operation, with double that number expected to be added by 2003.
RJ demand is expected to remain strong for many more years. In fact,
German RJ manufacturer Fairchild Dornier
forecasts that between now and 2020, nearly 8,000 RJs, seating
between 25 and 110 passengers, will take to the
skies.
Passengers aren’t the only ones loving RJs. Airlines
love them for their efficiency and ability to open up new, untapped
markets that couldn’t be flown by using turboprops. Because RJs are
highly reliable and efficient, they are more likely to be operated
in longer-distance markets that airlines markets where airlines
aren’t making a profit with their larger and more expensive jets.
The use of RJs enables the airlines to lower costs per seat mile and
to keep a brand identity on those routes once flown by the big jets.
All this has lead to substantial profits for
airlines.
Pilots Not So Happy
The gain in
profits has airlines salivating at the opportunity to buy more of
the RJs. However, pilots fear that airlines will use RJs to replace
larger planes, which pilots are paid more to fly. Nonetheless,
pilots at certain major carriers have a lot to say about how many
RJs can join a fleet. Some pilot contracts contain restrictive
“scope clauses,” which are tough rules limiting the number and size
of aircraft the pilots are allowed to fly, and in some cases, the
terms under which pilots fly. Because of scope clauses, RJ
manufacturers have had a hard time selling RJs that seat over 70
passengers. To get around the various scope clauses, manufactures
have had to configure them to hold fewer passengers.
No
Room in the Skies
Selling the planes is one thing;
finding room in the skies is another. According to reports published
by the Center for Advanced Aviation
System Development (CAASD), as RJs replace turboprops, airline
traffic that normally flies at lower altitudes (below 20,000 feet)
has moved higher up into the increasingly crowded airspace where the
larger jets fly. Because they are jets, RJs operate most efficiently
when flying at higher altitudes. Moreover, some traffic flows are
disturbed because RJ models fly at slower speeds than larger jet
aircraft. To top it all off, some turboprop runways are too short
for RJs to use, which again puts RJs in the mix with big
jets.
Nevertheless, RJs still represent a small portion of
the total airline fleet and are no more accountable for congestion
and delays than any other aircraft flying. Clearly, their presence
has only strengthened the argument
that our air traffic system is
greatly in need of drastic support.
Passengers Pay the
Price
More than 655 million people traveled on U.S.
planes last year, a number expected to hit one billion within a
decade. Each time you fly, you pay a tax that goes into the Aviation
Trust Fund, a fund set up specifically to maintain and improve
aviation infrastructure. Unfortunately, for many years, the tax
revenues generated by the airline industry were being diverted to
non-aviation spending, tax relief, or debt reduction. Only last year
did former President Clinton release the necessary funds to start
the improvements. The current challenges for both the government and
the airline industry is to find ways to allow for the improved
service benefits that RJs provide and to work to correct the
beleaguered air traffic system.
For Additional
Information:
Department of Transportation's
Inspector General
Air Travel Consumer
Report
Center for Advanced Aviation
System Development (CAASD)
Regional Airline
Association
Air Transport
Association
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