For the first time in recent memory the U.S. regional airline industry could experience a drop in passenger boardings during the second half of this year as skyrocketing fuel costs prompt the nation’s major airlines to reconsider the use of their partners’ most fuel-thirsty assets. Several of the country’s largest regional airlines have already begun to feel the effect, and at least one–Mesa Air Group–flirted with bankruptcy due to a partner’s attempts to pull out of a contract that engages the service of 34 regional jets.
Although Delta Air Lines cited Mesa’s failure to meet guaranteed completion rates for its decision to vacate the contract, a federal judge issued an injunction barring the move after Mesa argued that Delta’s own schedule changes forced the cancellations. Weeks later, Delta notified Pinnacle Airlines that it planned to dissolve their Delta Connection contract effective July 31. If that attempt proves successful, it would remove the nine Bombardier CRJ900s Pinnacle now flies from Delta’s Atlanta hub. Pinnacle vowed to “pursue appropriate remedies,” however, claiming that Delta’s unreasonable schedules caused the poor on-time performance that ostensibly triggered the termination notice.
