From a distance, the reason regional airlines would oppose a new law passed by Congress that sets a 1,500 flight-hour minimum for Part 121 first officers might seem obvious: The pool of pilots from which airlines can choose prospective employees will inevitably shrink. The rules of supply and demand dictate that the cost of hiring first officers will therefore rise. In an environment where major airlines, through CPA cost concessions, have gradually managed to squeeze profit margins at their regional partners to their lowest point since such “cost-plus” contracts became fashionable, the price of the new legislation that now certainly will become FAA doctrine in three years appears utterly exhorbitant.
But to Regional Airline Association (RAA) president Roger Cohen, the reasons go far deeper than naked economics. Safety, he insists, has always stood at the top of the regional airline industry’s list of priorities, and to characterize Congress’s passage of H.R.5900 as a loss for the RAA would do the association a disservice. “I don’t think you can look at safety and improving safety in terms of wins and losses. This is not a ballgame,” said Cohen.
