Regional Airline Association 2008 Convention Report
A trip from the site of last year’s RAA annual convention in Memphis to the venue chosen for this year’s edition, held in Indianapolis last month, covers b

A trip from the site of last year’s RAA annual convention in Memphis to the venue chosen for this year’s edition, held in Indianapolis last month, covers barely 450 miles, but the psychological distance the industry has traveled over the past 12 months seems more like light years. Granted, the skies had already darkened over the birthplace of Elvis and the blues last spring, but the conversation this year at a nevertheless busy Indiana Convention Center left no doubt that the so-called perfect storm had arrived.

“I’ve been around [the airline industry] for 35 years and except for maybe the days right after 9/11 this is the most challenging time that I can ever recall,” said RAA president Roger Cohen. One need only look at the RAA’s airline member rolls for a glimpse at the extent of that challenge. Now counting 40 airline members, the RAA last year listed 43.