Ever the optimist, Roger Cohen stayed true to form as he talked about his most pressing concerns for the Regional Airline Association and its membership for the next year during a pre-convention interview with AIN. The RAA president seems always to see opportunity in the challenges confronting the association and its 30 member airlines, perhaps most notably in the evolving regulatory environment they face.
“Our members have come through this period much stronger,” referring to two years of some of the most intense public scrutiny the regional airline industry has ever endured. “They’ve proved their resiliency in [spite] of everything. That they’re flying a greater percentage of the schedule, carrying a greater share of the passengers and a greater percentage of communities than ever before I think proves the point.” In fact, regional airlines account for 50.3 percent of all domestic flights in the U.S. and more than a quarter of all passengers, “and that seems to be a high-water mark,” said Cohen.
