RJs: 'Key to U.S. Industry Survival'

U.S. operators of Regional Jet aircraft now serve 223 North American airports, with 26 receiving first-ever schedules during calendar year 2002, according to a detailed analysis of the Regional Airline schedule announcements undertaken by the Regional Air Service Initiative (RASI). The expansion of RJ schedules at previously served communities also grew rapidly during the past twelve months. The number of different airline/hub options available at these airports increased by 11% as Regional carriers added a significant number of new nonstop service options to previously established points.

Nearly one-half of all route announcements made in 2002 were for first-ever nonstop flights.

"Even as the Legacy Major carriers attempt to reconstitute themselves as going concerns, Regional carriers continue to expand the scope of service they provide to American cities by focusing on the addition of new market-pairs, the majority of which were never served nonstop before," said Doug Abbey, Executive Director of RASI. He underlined: "Surprisingly, the number of routes where RJ's replaced Major carrier jets accounted for only a small portion of all new service, with about 9% of the total. This statistic confirms there is little doubt that small capacity jets are critical to the U.S. airline industry's growth and long-term survival."

Think about how fast it's growing:

In the period from January 1st to December 31st 2002, U.S. Regional carriers announced new RJ schedules on 183 airport-pairs -- at a rate of three-and-a-half per week. While the vast majority of routes were hub-based, the small jet industry also lived up to its promise of expanded point-to-point service options. Examples of new direct routes included: Boston-Washington/National (American Eagle and Delta Connection), Boise-Phoenix (Horizon), and Tallahassee-Tampa (AirTran JetConnect).

First-ever nonstop schedules represented the largest category of Regional Jet service announcements in 2002, accounting for nearly one-half of all routes added in 2002. The second largest group, termed "turboprop upgrade/replacement," represented 17% of all new RJ service. A brand new category followed -- defined as "RJ Growth" -- where new 70-seat aircraft were used to replace/supplement 50-seaters for the first time. Some 27 different routes fell into this category, or 14.8% of the total.

Turbofan aircraft were also instrumental in expanding the scope of Regional Airline service options by flying increasingly longer stages. The average new route was 544 miles. Of the total, more than one-half of all RJ service announcements in 2002 were on routes 750 miles or greater. Nine of the new routes exceeded 1,000 miles, including the longest: Newark - Oklahoma City at 1,325 miles. Regional Jets continued their role as turboprop aircraft replacements by also flying relatively short stages. Among the very shortest, was Newark-White Plains, at 35-miles.

Major Carrier Scope Clauses (contracted limits to Regional Jet operations) had a significant impact on the individual carriers making new service announcements. Given its relatively liberal agreement, Delta Connection carriers accounted for a majority of new routes, with nearly 47% of the total. Northwest Airlink ranked second, with 19 announcements, followed by Continental Express with 18. USAirways Express, by contrast, planned only seven new RJ routes.

During the past year, first-ever Regional Jet service was introduced to 26 airports by U.S. Regional carriers, growing the total number of points served by RJ's to 233. These new destinations, generally smaller in population and which have traditionally relied exclusively on turboprop aircraft schedules, included such communities as Victoria, Texas; Huntington, West Virginia; and San Luis Obispo, California.

Expansion of RJ service to previously served points also continued apace. On average, U.S. spoke airports recorded an 11% increase in the number of hub and carrier options provided by Regional Jets at their local airport. Among the communities receiving the greatest absolute increases were Wichita, Kansas and White Plains, New York -- both doubling from five RJ hub/carrier options to ten. Colorado Springs, Colorado also saw five new options added.

Among U.S. RJ hubs operating for at least one year, two operated by Delta (Atlanta and Dallas/Ft. Worth) produced the greatest expansion in the number of Regional Jet spokes served, with 26 and 25 new markets added respectively in 2002. On the basis of percent growth, the number of RJ markets served by United Express at San Francisco surged 300% (from one to four), followed by America West Express at Phoenix, up 121% (from 17 to 34). During the year 2002, Cincinnati became the first U.S. Regional Jet hub to sustain more than 100 nonstop destinations.

Six new Regional Jet hubs were launched in 2002 including two by Low Cost carriers: AirTran JetConnect at Atlanta and Frontier JetExpress at Denver. Major carriers also introduced RJ schedules at several new mini-hubs during the year, including Raleigh/Durham and Los Angeles (American), Las Vegas (America West) and Los Angeles (United). A total of 39 routes were represented by these new operations.

FMI: www.regionalairservice.org