IS RAA's CRISIS AN INDUSTRY CRISIS?

I, and others, are numb by the attention the mainstream press gives to points/data regarding small community air service the #RegionalAirlineAssociation (RAA) provides. It is not that the data is wrong. Rather the data they provide to the Hill, the #washingtonpost , the #newyorktimes and anyone who will listen is grossly incomplete. IT NEEDS TO STOP!!

On 11/11/22, RAA put forth "Newly Released Data Shows Air Service Crisis". Back in the day air carriers represented by the RAA accounted for more than 50% of departures flown domestically - TRUE. That number used to matter. It doesn't anymore. Other numbers that mean little today are also available.

THE ELEMENTS OF A CRISIS

1. THREAT TO AN ORGANIZATION. Yes, RAA's decades old advocacy on behalf of smaller airlines flying smaller airplanes to smaller communities is being threatened. Maybe RAA should be focusing on the yeoman's work that #CapeAir, #Silver and others provide today and begin to remake itself as THEE advocacy group for the new technology that is on the horizon.

2. THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE. Where in the hell is the surprise? The small jet's place inside the larger carrier's schedule offerings has been on a steady decline for at least a decade. I fail to see the surprise when its fate has been crystal clear to everyone except the airport deniers believing that air service will continue in perpetuity.

3. A SHORT DECISION TIME. RAA is a one trick pony citing the pilot shortage for all its current woes. Maybe true in 2013. It is not in 2022. Even if there were sufficient pilots to fly the grounded aircraft RAA cites, no commercial entity with a profit motive would fly all of them.

The short decision time THEN should be THEE element that the U.S. Government (USG) pays VERY close attention to. Every elected official likely has a commercial air service airport in their district. The USG has failed to address many issues impacting airline service in the past believing that commercial air service is an entitlement. Commercial entities with a profit motive are not in the entitlement business either.

There is clear and present danger to the USG and DOT. There is a crisis in the making. Any shortage of pilots, mechanics, dispatchers, or air traffic controllers going forward will hinder the growth plans of the next sector in the food chain - the Ultra-Low-Cost-Carriers (ULCCs).

Every time slots at a restricted airport become available, the USG awards those coveted slots to the ULCC sector implying they ARE the ultimate disciplinarians of price and competition making them the champions of the air travel consumer.

So, Secretary #Buttigieg the message should be clear: If you want to ensure that all sectors have a level playing field to grow, ignoring the obvious actions by the larger carriers that just might crowd out the ULCC sector will dampen competition and lessen consumer benefits. Your call.

Happy Thanksgiving. Getting hungry - for FACTS.

#swelbar