Regional airlines, bizav shine in FAA forecast
The FAA now doesn’t expect domestic commercial air travel to return to pre-9/11 levels until 2006, and its earlier forecasts that U.S.

The FAA now doesn’t expect domestic commercial air travel to return to pre-9/11 levels until 2006, and its earlier forecasts that U.S. airlines would be enplaning one billion passengers a year by 2010 have been pushed back to at least 2014. The FAA’s soothsayers also didn’t take into account the effects of the war in Iraq, further terrorist acts and corresponding security measures, as well as the possibility of further airline bankruptcies.

That the current outlook for a quick rebound by commercial aviation remains dismal was evidenced by the fact that the greatest growth is seen in the regional airline industry and the increased use of business aircraft. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey acknowledged that her agency’s annual aerospace forecast for 2003 reflects a “downward adjustment” from what was projected last year, calling it “discouraging.”