The cyclical nature of the airline business showed its inevitability again at this year’s Regional Airline Association convention, held May 21 to 24 in Memphis, Tenn. More than 1,500 visitors passed through the turnstiles at the Memphis Convention Center–a record number for an RAA convention. Of course, numbers alone can’t measure energy and enthusiasm, neither of which ran in short supply in the birthplace of the blues and Elvis, but they can tell a lot about the challenges faced by a business that has certainly seen its share of statistical peaks and valleys over the past decade.
For example, almost 30 percent of all pilots placed on furlough during the last industry downturn have declined invitations to return to work, leaving regional airlines such as Memphis’ own Pinnacle Airlines struggling to field a full complement of flight crews. The last time the airline business saw anything like a pilot shortage, 9/11 hadn’t yet happened and 50-seat regional jets still held their former status as the darlings of the industry.
