The RJ Coalition

THE RJ COALITION

Group promotes concept that regional jets can work to everyone's advantage

BY James Wilding, President & CEO, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority

September 1999

Let me start with a proposition. The automobile was one of the most important inventions leading to the development of modern U.S. society. The automobile, and shortly thereafter trucks, created industries and was responsible for the creation of millions of jobs.

The automobile shaped U.S. society like no other technology had before. It changed the way people conducted business. It brought families who lived across town from one another and in other cities closer, and it provided new opportunities for vacations and for recreation. In short, the automobile fundamentally changed U.S. society and we have never looked back.

What, you may be asking yourself, does a short history of the automobile have to do with aviation and regional jets? The answer is, a great deal.

The point goes to the heart of the current debate over expanding the use of Regional Jets throughout the U.S. air transportation network. Like yesterday's automobile when it was newly introduced, the Regional Jet is the key to many communities in America, and for hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens for creating new choices in business and recreational travel, new jobs, and opportunities for millions.

Central Message: Economic Benefit
This is a core message of the Regional Jet Coalition, an alliance of 17 airports and two states who have joined in an effort to encourage and inform the industry and the public about the economic benefits of the Regional Jet. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has been a member from the beginning, recognizing that increased use of Regional Jets is not only important for small and medium-size hubs, but for airports the size of Washington Dulles.

Because the number of RJs in the system is not as great as the marketplace could support, many U.S. communities continue to suffer from a lack of adequate air service. These communities are trapped in so-called "pockets of pain." They are too small for service by mainline jets, yet they could support profitable service by Regional Jets.

Initial Obstacles
In a report released earlier this year, the Regional Jet Coalition identified more than 1,450 spoke-to-hub markets of about 250 cities with a total traffic pool of 485,000 passengers a day that could profitably sustain RJ service. The logical question, then, is to ask, Why isn't it happening? The answer can be found in part with restrictions contained in labor agreements between airline management and airline pilots that limit the number of RJs that some airlines are permitted to operate in their systems.

Five years ago, it was completely understandable and natural that airline pilots were concerned that airline management could replace mainline jets the size of 737s and bigger with smaller Regional Jets, the pay scales for which are lower. Indeed, the actual deployment of RJs could have gone in that direction, but did not. Instead, they bolstered the industry primarily through hub building. As our analysis shows, mainline pilot jobs would be far more likely to increase if more RJs were placed into service.

Absent a fresh approach, based on today's demonstrated patterns of RJ usage, several hundred cities and their airports are missing out on the opportunity of improved air service. They are not enjoying the benefits of the first "mission compatible" aircraft that is able to provide improved quality of service, frequency, and connections to the hubs of one, two, or even three major U.S. airlines.

For communities that have been dependent on a single major U.S. airline for air service, regional jet service to a second major U.S. airline's hub opens up vast new regions of the U.S., and for the first time meaningful intercarrier and interhub competition.

Airports are economic engines. Increase the frequency of flights and the numbers of destinations and you stimulate the local economy, and that of the airport, also. More passengers mean more business for food and beverage concessions, retail shops, and rental car agencies. And that's exactly what Regional Jets can mean for an airport and a community that can profitably sustain such service if the aircraft were available.

A need for sharing knowledge
It is the mission of the Regional Jet Coalition to educate the stakeholders in this debate that it is in their best interest to support expansion of RJ service. To do this, let me refer back once again to our study, which found that Regional Jets are "hub building" aircraft. They are already being used to fill out major airlines' hubs in markets too large for turboprops and too small for multi-frequency mainline service.

Nationwide, only 9 percent of Regional Jet flying has been to replace mainline jet operations. In almost all of those cases, mainline jets were redeployed on longer stage length routes. More than 60 percent of Regional Jets have been used to supplement turboprop or mainline jet operations, or to replace turboprop service. Thirty percent of Regional Jet flying by U.S. major airlines has been to introduce new service. Regional Jets are creating new mainline flying jobs for pilots rather than putting them at risk.

Our study portrays a mutually beneficial situation for pilots, management, and for communities and their airports. It's to our benefit, and it's up to us in the airport community, to continue to work to educate our industry about the benefits of Regional Jets.

We hope others will join us at the Regional Jet Coalition to insure that this important educational initiative has a wide base of support. For more information, contact project coordinator GKMG Consulting Services, Inc., at (202) 342-5295.