High-flying regionals work hard to maintain altitude
It had been a somewhat quiet year since the RAA staged its annual convention in St.

It had been a somewhat quiet year since the RAA staged its annual convention in St. Louis last May. Seemingly immune to the ills that have crippled their mainline counterparts for the past four years, the regional airlines finished last year with close to 30-percent traffic gains and average yields of 10 percent, leaving many wondering how long the major airlines would allow such an imbalance to continue.

But as we approach the start of this year’s convention, set for May 16 to 19 in Cincinnati, the gravy train has begun to show signs of slowing. Few predict an imminent derailment, but as RAA president Debby McElroy warns, as the majors go so go the regionals, a discomforting thought in an environment where two legacy carriers operate under bankruptcy protection and a third teeters on the brink of Chapter 11.