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Two very crucial facts that you did not touch on Petter, are 1) the tremendous size difference between the United States and Europe and 2) our total lack of a national public rail system. It is a much used reference point, but it needs repeating - all of France would fit comfortably inside of Texas with room to spare. Speaking as a business traveler who has spent time in the EU, our regional airlines essentially operate as your business class rail service. Is it the most effective or efficient way to do things? Not going to try to defend it one way or another. It evolved organically - in fact, there was a great advertisement by Delta back in the 1980's (using a stranded motorist) with their "We're ready when you are." campaign that captures it perfectly. In addition, for business travelers, who still make up the majority of the revenue on US flights, wasted time sitting in an airport hub is wasted money. Consolidating five regional flights/day to two large body jets does not well service this market. Point-to-point service in a country with 51 government centers plus the terratorial centers and the major financial hubs and every other city with manufacturing? I am not going to go there. Would the market "deal with" a loss of flight frequency because it has no other option? For a time. Until it finds more cost advantageous options which possibly will not involve flying at all. It is always good to remember who your customer is. Runway length and "international" in a name is not sufficient research to assess an airport. Runways are often built long in the expectation of growth or other reasons. Harrisburg, PA, and Tallahassee, FL, are both state capitals, and, accordingly, cities with much business travel. Respective populations and airport terminal gates: ~550,000 with 12 gates, and ~150,000 with 14 gates. Those really are not large markets. (My apologies to my Western sisters and brothers but my miles have been mostly east of the Big River. Please add your thoughts.) Net, net, I believe there are several more variables involved in why the regional system works for the NA market. I agree with you that financials are certainly a major aspect of it but there are other sides of those financials - if people stop flying, no one wins. My money is still on the regional system for the foreseeable future, especially now that the airlines are beginning to pay their crews more correctly. I apologize for the long response, but you put so much great effort into all of your videos, which i enjoy and look forward to every week, that I felt you deserved more than just a terse one sentence response that might be misconstrued. With Best Regards Lisa

Frequency of services has a lot to do with it. Who wants to spend half a day at a hub airport because your only connection was at zero dark thirty?

"There is no worker shortage, there is only pay shortage" YES, thank you for bringing that up. Doesn't just apply to pilots and aircrews, but literally every industry ever. Teachers, service industry, even manufacturing.

The basis of competition in the US is often flight frequency. If you can fly smaller aircraft to a regional airport several times a day versus one large jet once a day, it will impact your market share significantly. Having a cheaper pilot salary scale doesn't hurt, but the main reason is to keep the feeder flights full so that the hubs can operate near capacity, especially if those are international hubs launching the highly profitable long-haul flights.

Native Texan here: I used to LOVE flying in those turbojet "puddlejumpers" from small regional airports to larger airports. I thought it was much more fun that a 'boring' big jet. 🙂

One of the big differences between US and Europe is that for the most part there is an efficient passenger rail network in Europe to feed the airports. There is poor rail feeder service in the US so the feeder service is by more frequent service to smaller (market not necessarily physical) airports.

Short security lines are nice at small airports.

It seems to be the case that the regionals here in the US mainly serve the purpose of connecting less-popular (not necessarily smaller) airports to central hubs, rather than providing service between small airports that can’t support larger aircraft. I live in Albuquerque, and even though we have an airport with 3 large, long runways and consistent wide-body cargo traffic, nearly every passenger flight is on a regional jet (aside from southwest’s 737s and Delta’s a320 connection to Atlanta). Seems to be true at other airports that aren’t major passenger hubs too.

My US town of ~50k population has fairly new "regional" flights twice a day operated by Envoy. The are *definitely* feeder flights by American Airlines - going only between KSWO and KDFW. Gotta say they we *love* it. As a long-time business flyer, I have driven many, many miles and paid thousands of dollars for airport parking just to get between home and KOKC or KTUL. Now having a local connection to AA is completely awesome change.

Having worked for a US mid-sized corporation for over 30 years, I found that expecting logic to be the reason for business decisions was almost never an expectation that became a reality, especially if $ were part of the decision (and $ were always part of the decision).

I'm a 32 year retired US major airline mechanic. When I first started the commuters were only turbo props and the regional aircraft were flown & maintained by the main line carriers. As the years went by the turbo props were taken out of service and the major airlines established their own wholly owned regional service. The reason is simple as the main line carriers pay their wholly owned subsidiary carriers less, and the aircraft don't burn as much fuel or pay as much in landing fees. If the US ever had dependable high speed rail service this would be a problem for regional airlines. FLY NAVY!!!

I don't think regionals are going away. Honestly, you only looked at

The biggest issue with Breeze is that they’re trying to grow with infrequent services. I don’t care how cheap you claim to be if I have to plan my vacation around a twice weekly flight. Until they get up to daily on their routes, I’m going to wait and see.

In Canada, regional 'Air Canada Jazz' flies 3 hours route such as Vancouver-Chicago, or Calgary-Chicago, or Edmonton-San Francisco. It was always told that the pay at Jazz is much lower than at mainline Air Canada, and moving flights to Jazz is in part a way to keep labour costs down.

We had a lot of ATRs in the US in the regional fleet. Then the whole 'ice up and fall out of the sky' issue happened and people started to not feel comfortable on turboprops.

I live in the US and I had no clue what pilots meant when they say they started at regional but now I have a lot better understanding of it.

You still need to give passengers more options in feeder airlines, if a regional cuts by half its flights it’s extremely difficult to make decent connections

As someone who works as an aircraft dispatcher for CommuteAir, an airline you mentioned in this video, I could give some additional insight into this conversation. There are some additional factors that also effect our operations and why regional airlines won’t go away in the US anytime soon. Passengers in America want convenience, and regional airlines can provide this with higher frequency of flights. In addition, passengers want comfort in their regional flights and thus why props have mostly gone extinct in regional operations here, and also resulting in lower passengers density in the cabins with more legroom and wider seats. In addition the United States government offers indentures to smeller cities with Essential Services Flights which have to be at or below certain requirements, which by chance happen to be just slightly above the Scope Clauses for most US regionals. While regionals have been paying pilots and many other crew members better than ever, these rates are still well below mainline as the majors have had to increase wages as well. Honestly, the worker shortage at airlines will probably continue for the next couple of years, and will probably result in pay continuing to go up.

Just started at a US regional airline last week. Great timing!

I worked for US Airways for 36 years. The first 24 years were in Cleveland, Ohio. We were a smaller mostly mainline station with some regional flights. After 9/11 airline traffic had dropped across the industry. In 2003 we were informed that our station was being turned into a regional station with no mainline flights. My options were to either transfer to a station with mainline flights or stay in Cleveland and go to work for the regional airline at a 50% pay cut. I packed my family up and transferred. After they announced the closure of the station US Airways sent in a group of people to explain our options and the process . They also sent in a VP to explain why our station was closing. He said that regional jets were more cost effective and the airline was planning on buying many more. I asked him what the plan was when the passengers returned to flying and all we had left were small regional jets. This genius's answer was "We don't expect the passengers to ever return in the numbers before 9/11." I often wonder what happened to that moron. I retired in 2016 from American Airlines.

I am looking at SkyWest’s route map. They do routes for the big four (you left out Alaska Air) major US airlines. Most of the routes are from a hub to a small airport. GoJet also flies between hubs and a lot of small airports, but are only working with one major. Endeavor does the same with Delta. The US does not have the rail network that Europe has. Look at the combined route maps of Skywest, GoJet, and Endeavor to see how many more small airports are served by air here that would be served by rail in Europe. I have been flying long enough that I have seen some of these regional airlines switch between which major they worked with or new regional become the airline serving the route for the major.

One thing that I think is relevant here is that (at least in the US) the major carriers' primary revenue source is not aircraft operations. They're basically banks. The airline operations are essentially rebate programs for their credit cards and loyalty programs. They need to offer whatever those customers want to keep them using their credit cards. If the miles I earn on my credit cards are not convenient to redeem, I'll find a different reward program.

It’s kinda complicated in America. Everyone flies from pretty much everywhere over here. We have so many airports. Even smaller “cities” have airports and airlines. Like where I live near Knoxville, TN, our airport basically serves just to get you to a bigger airport for your main flight. We do have some direct flights to big cities now (like to Las Vegas), but even then it’s limited to a couple of times a week, and doesn’t always schedule for someone’s needs. Most of the fleet at McGhee Tyson are smaller regional jets, for that reason. We don’t have 300 people wanting to fly to Chicago twice a week, but certainly might have 70 per day wanting to make that flight

I've noticed this year that a lot of routes i fly that used to be CRJ-700 and/or CRJ-900, are now being serviced by 737's a lot of the time. And i was told by a pilot (for Delta airlines) that it was because of the pilot shortage. They don't have enough pilots for the flight deck positions they have.

Things sure have changed. One of my first regional flights was out of somewhere in South Carolina 45 years ago. The guy at the check in counter loaded the luggage, then was the pilot. I was the last passenger on, and all the seats were full, so I ended up sitting in the front right seat. The pilot asked me not to touch any of the instruments.

You mention Miami and Charleston as part of a single regional route. That's 788km. From Paris CDG, that would get you to anywhere in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the vast majority of Germany, the whole of England and Wales (but not Scotland), and much of northern Italy, plus parts of Austria and Czechia, and enough of Ireland to include Dublin, and the very north of Spain (maybe enough to include Barcelona and Pamplona). Would that be a regional flight in Europe?

The regional airlines you mentioned in Scandinavia remind me of the daily milk run route that Alaska does from Seattle to Anchorage via the Southern Alaska Inner Passage. Which is both to serve small Alaskan town for cargo shipments and residents getting to Anchorage, Juneau, or the lower 48.

Here in Dallas Fort Worth we had the Wright amendment which was a law passed to prevent Southwest from competing against the big boys. It also was to protect DFW airport from losing income to Love Field. That kept them regional, but the law has expired. I’m pretty sure Southwest still doesn’t fly out of DFW. For a while, the big three were buying up gates at Love Field to keep Southwest from expanding. They also have a strong Lobby to prevent high speed rail from DFW to Houston.

I agree with the Flight Frequency argument. I take assignments with my company that require travel to numerous cities about a 1 or 2 hour flight away. Fewer flights /choices mean more overnights, and a much higher cost. Plus the added time for me, and time away from my home and family, which is the most valuable commodity of all.

also, as a former ramp worker I can say the E-175 is a gorgeous plane to be a passenger on....but a nightmare to deal with as a ramp agent. those cargo holds are ridiculous!

Im sitting on a regional airline… Avelo, waiting to take off in 19 mins from New Haven to Fort Myers.

At skywest we had a nearly 97% pay increase from around $46 first year FO pay to $90 first year FO pay

As an American, I realize the model used by Most airlines here is pretty strange (my preferred domestic carrier SWA is the exception). But Europe with its wet leases and naked planes and business class being 3 economy seats with a table over the middle seat, is pretty strange to me. Once I flew a LOT codeshare from WAW-STR that had a long tarmac delay. The pilots and cabin crew made all the announcements in English (which was fine for me) but none of them understood any Polish or German. As it turns out their first language was Spanish.

My son is midway through his training to become a commercial pilot at a flight school in Utah. This video had a lot of interesting information I was unaware of, so I passed it on to him. Love your videos!!

As a passenger, i prefer lots of small flights a day rather than 1 bigger flight because i most likely will be home much sooner. Waiting 6 hours at the Las Vegas airport is horrendous.

There´re in fact two very different systems in Europe and in the US: The relevant US Carrier are Commuter Airlines, not Regional Airlines. They´ve a different role in different Business Models. The European Model is indeed that the relevant Carrier are operating as Regional Airlines either in flying routes on which are not enough customers to fill a Boeing or an Airbus or in flying routes to minor airports to connect them. So in Europe either the Major Carrier are owning their Regional Airlines as part of their Group (Lufthansa => Lufthansa Cityline and Air Dolomiti; KLM => KLM Cityhopper; Air France => Air France Hop; British Airways => BA Cityflyer; TAP Air Portugal => Portugallia; Finnair => NORRA; Aegean Airlines => Olympic Air) or they´re really independent Airlines operating on their own risk (Bra in Sweden; Wideroe in Norway; Loganair in the UK; Binter and Canarias Airlines on the Canary Islands in Spain; Amelia International and Chalair in France; Sprintair in Poland - Helvetic Airways in Switzerland is a mixed Regional Airline, being independent but operating with one half of their fleet for Swiss, with the other half on their own risk). Only in two cases there´re "independent" Regional Airlines operating for a Major Carrier: SAS (Scandinavia) => Cityjet (Ireland) and Xfly (Estonia); Iberia => Air Nostrum (both from Spain). But both cases are still Regional Airlines in the European sense. Therefore they own a wide range of Aircrafts, depending on their specific and often very different operations, different fleet policies and of course financial backgrounds: Lufthansa Cityline A 319-100, E 190 and CRJ 900; Air Dolomiti E 195; KLM Cityhopper E 175 (yes!), E 190 and E 195-E2; Air France Hop E 170 (yes!), E 190 and CRJ 1000; BA Cityflyer E 190; Portugallia E 190 and E 195; NORRA E 190 and ATR 72; Olympic Air ATR 42, ATR 72, Dash 8-100 and Dash 8-400; Bra ATR 72; Wideroe E 190E-2, Dash 8-100, Dash 8-200, Dash 8-300 and Dash 8-400; Loganair ERJ 135, ERJ 145, ATR 42, ATR 72, Saab 340, Twin Otter and even Britten-Norman Islander; Binter E 195E-2 and ATR 72; Canarias ATR 72; Amelia A 319-100, ERJ 135, ERJ 145, ATR 42, ATR 72 and Beechcraft 1900C; Chalair ATR 42 and ATR 72; Sprintair ATR 72 and Saab 340; Helvetic E 190, E 190-E2 and E 195 -E2; Cityjet CRJ 900; Xfly CRJ 900 and ATR 72; Air Nostrum CRJ 1000, CRJ 200 and ATR 72. That´s a whole other story in the US and I doubt the Commuter System will disappear there in the foreseeable Future.

I don’t think the regional airlines are dying, but they’re definitely being regrouped. There’s a lot of small airports, especially in Texas, that see regional service to DFW. A lot of these locations can’t sustain service and are losing service all together.

I’m a Republic Flight Attendant and I actually worked ON that airplane 422 on the day you mentioned, Oct 20! Cool! I’m in Pittsburgh. I’m about to hit 22 years seniority. I hope my airline is around a long time, but for selfish reasons, at least 20 more years, til I can retire, that is. My pilots all just got a huge raise. Some of our seniors pilots have been scaring me lately with predictions exactly to the point of this video. I hope I don’t lose my job. :( Thanks for this video. You make perfect sense, unfortunately for me, and my colleagues.

Good video overall, but you're overlooking a key piece: Southwest. You repeatedly pointed out that regional partner airlines don't fly to smaller airports as much as their European equivalents do. That is because Southwest focuses on these smaller regional flights. And it has a very successful business model by focusing on shorter flights between smaller airports in smaller planes.

My wife travels a lot for work and we deliberately chose to live in a city with a big regional airport rather than a major hub. She has many more flight choices from here than she might at a major hub airport. With her preferred airline, there are 5 hubs she can connect through to get to her various destinations. She has never missed a meeting or appointment due to weather or equipment, while some of her major hub based colleagues have. Also, drop off or parking, car rental, check in and security are much easier than at a major hub. Yes, there is connection time added, but the ease of use of our home airport makes up for the connections.

As someone who’s worked their way through regionals to work for a major US airline, I appreciate this video. It’s often hard to explain all these issues when asked. You’ve done a great job condensing these issues into a digestible video. Keep making great content!

David Needleman also assisted in the Founding of Westjet in Canada and Assul in South America. He's a smart cookie, been around the block a few times!

I really like the frequency that you are making videos now. Keep it up. Thanks!!

Envoy also operates international flights from Miami into the Caribbean using the E175s. These flights are up to three hours long.

That's why they're more considered "commuter" airlines. It helps add the frequencies in certain markets.

Fantastic video. Keep up the good work.

There are tax implications and subsidies that are attached to these flights, as well.

Hey @Mentour Now! One of the big factors of having regional airlines is frequency of flights and that was discussed by many in the comments. Another reason I haven’t seen mention is the legal and logistic isolation from the big three businesses. You mentioned fleet sizes and that is a big factor that drives their existence. For example, Delta doesn’t want to create the infrastructure required to house, maintain, and operate all fo those regional jets. Most importantly it doesn’t want to have the legal and regulatory liability of operating them. There are several excellent videos documenting the controversy of “are regional airlines actually different companies?” This was highlighted as a part of the Colgan Air tragedy and the accompanying lawsuits levied by the victims families. For now, Delta, United, and American Airlines are allowed to reap the full business benefits of these smaller regional airlines within assuming any financial, logistical, legal, or regulatory liability. It’s a huge win for the big 3 that they continue to exist. With jets like the CSeries/A220 emerging as a class of airplane that is smaller, regional size but has the efficiency to fly farther point to point route, it will be interesting to see if the big three start operating more direct flights because the economics start to make sense with those planes. Consumers pay more for direct flights and want a direct flight but not too much. The CSeries/A220 and future similar aircraft could make the need/shift away from regional operators possible.

Our regional airline here in Scotland is thankfully pretty simple, run by Logan Air, they use turbo props to fly from my northern city, Aberdeen, to the islands, so Orkney and Shetland. On Orkney there’s a very small airline that goes from island to island where one of those flights is a 2 minute flight and the craft doesn’t go above 1,000 feet (mostly used by locals who need to travel between islands, and plane enthusiasts!). The small Orkney craft is essentially treated like a bus, it’s pretty cheap (I could get tickets from £10-£15) and it’s a LOT faster than waiting for a small ferry. Apparently it’s also the Guinness World Record for the shortest flight in the world! So over here they’re desperately needed to connect the islands to mainland Scotland, especially Orkney, Shetland, the Hebredian Islands, there’s even a regular small craft that takes pregnant women to Aberdeen’s hospital to give birth (Gama Aviation), and there’s even smaller locations that are subsidised by our government because they’re isolated communities (Tiree, Barra, Campbeltown) because they just aren’t financially viable by themselves but Scottish government recognises they’re needed services, also run by Logan Air. There aren’t insane waits tho, it’s a regular service to be relied on, and the flights don’t generally last more than 1 hour unless there’s some issue (mechanical, weather, weather mostly being the issue because hey, this is Scotland!). It’s mostly the ATR-72 used here, the Orcadian small craft is a lovely “aerodynamic brick” (as described by her pilot!) the BN-2! So there’s some random regional aircraft facts for northern Scotland/Scottish islands, our regional airline is seen as a super important lifeline and used regularly by the oil industry, there’s multiple flights to/from Sumburgh (Shetland) every day, get to see them all the time from my house as I’m very close to the flight path!

I may or may not have flown one of those tail numbers you stated probably 100 times. Awesome coverage! Amazing grasp on scope clauses and their potential harmful effects that many here are unable to explain so easily.

Very interesting. Nicely done!

I understand your perspective Mentour. I grew up on farm and originally from a small town in rural Southwest Minnesota. I currently live and work in Denver, CO. I am extremely lucky to be able to fly from DIA (DEN) Denver International Airport into ATY or Watertown Regional Airport. SkyWest used to provide EAS (Essential Air Service) into Watertown from DIA via United Branding. The contract recently was then awarded to Denver Air Connection (Headquartered right across Arapahoe Road at Centennial Airport from where I work at US. Foods) I cherish the EAS service provided for passengers flying from DIA into Watertown, SD. The farm I grew up on which is in the middle of nowhere is only a half hour from Watertown, SD or ATY. It is absolutely amazing that I can get from Denver to the middle of nowhere USA in an hour. I feel I am very fortunate and will ALWAYS advocate EAS into Watertown, SD. Also a couple of fun facts: ATY just built a brand new terminal that is now open. Barack Obama when he was President of the United States visited Watertown, SD not once, but twice during his presidency, which is very astonishing. They flew a modified Boeing 757 into this airport as Air Force one. Watertown, SD is a very rural town and is considered a very small town by major city standards. I cannot say enough great things about Denver Air Connection and ATY for keeping EAS. Normally what would be a 12 hour drive, I can arrive home to visit my family and hometown within an hour. I state all of this as each EAS situation is very circumstantial and can have vast difference in model from route to route in the United States. Currently Denver Air Connection uses Embraer 145 50 seat jets from DIA into ATY. It is also very cool to work at US. Foods in Centennial and see these very same jets land at their home base for maintenance at APA in Centennial. I share all this, as this is a very specific example of a very small regional airline in the United States thriving while connecting very rural America to major United States Airports. Love your videos Mentour and wanted to shed some light on my experience flying recently in the United States using a very small regional airline.

I guess I'm repeating what others are saying. My airport is Portland International Jetport, PWM. I remember when regionals started and it was to provide more flights per day to like Boston, Newy Your, Philly, etc. These were supposed to help business travelers to get to meeting and back home sooner. They also allowed us to get to a major hub faster and cheaper.

A truly interesting insight of the inherent complexity of the Airline business. Didn’t know about this Scope clause. Thank you!

I finally watched this video & I subscribed. I'm sorry that it took me so long!

One issue not mentioned is that N/A has very poor rail/bus service. The log distance between major airports means that the regions may still be necessary to get people to the major airports.

I think you are missing one key thing in your equation. The regional airport in my area is 50% passenger/50% cargo. We have two key cargo deployments here, pharmaceutical and air feeder service for major package express integrators. The airport is quite a busy place despite it being small.

Very good your video. Congratulations and TKS.

I appreciate your time that it took to make this video..... I can firmly attests that it would seem like a very unusual environment here in the US in regard to air travel.... just a few key points (from someone who's been doing this many years :) ) 1) Regional airlines are not "Controlled" by the mainlines.... they BID for contract routes that the Mainlines simply don't want to use their own equipment to fly - this means that if Mesa (for example) bids on a contract route and states they can operate the route for AA (American Airlines) for $100 per person, and AA wants the route covered with the lowest bidder who in this case would be Mesa, then Mesa would most likely get the route for a specified amount of years or based on performance matrix ..... because Mesa does not sell directly to the AA Customer, AA will then decide on the ticket price, taking into account the bid package from Mesa, and then determine a fare to charge, of which $100 is passed onto Mesa... The mainline and Regional also have agreed upon "performance practices" that usually are dictated in a contract of operation at the time the route bid is awarded. 2) All Regional carriers compete with each other in this "bidding of routes". They are also partly responsible for bidding and contracting for gate space, bases for operations, maintenance, etc. Having a Regional do this saves Mainline Carriers Millions of dollars a year for NOT having to deal with such things as they already have their own network established with the more economical aircraft (as you mentioned in your video) 3) Regional pay - Mesa in 2019 would start a newly hired First Officer at $36 per hour.... with a 76 hour per month guarantee.... as of a few months ago, that number is now $100 per hour..... yeah way more than 50% increase - this is due mostly to trying to attract helicopter pilots who are looking to transition from Rotorcraft to Fixed wing flying as well as Part 135 Pilots who also might want to consider moving into a Part 121 Carrier. 4) because a 1500 hour Cessna pilot would qualify to obtain their ATP MEL License in the US (Airline Transport Pilot Multi-Engine Land) - only Part 121 carriers with approved training programs can "Train and Test the pilot candidate for the ATP MEL" - the cost for this was low and the process quick for the Regional Carriers to get FAA approval for these programs... therefore, new pilots who want their ATP MEL license to operate in the US will most always have to go through a Regional carrier to obtain this. This was something that the airlines lobbies our law makers in 2011 and 2012, and in 2014 the amended rules were implemented by the FAA. 5) Every Mainline is represented by various unions..... American Airlines has the Allied Pilots Association, where as Envoy (owned by American) has ALPA (Airline Pilots Association) - nether of these groups intend to merge, and rightfully so mostly due to the Scope Clause that you very clearly explained. Mainline pilots want to feel like their jobs are protected, and it can take years to earn the spot or obtain employment with a Mainline because of the strict criteria that the Unions have help to establish. 6) Regional Airlines have been "upgrading" (or a better term would be "migrating") to the E-175 based on customer satisfaction surveys - the traveling US customer base prefers a aircraft that is a bit larger than the Q400 (and even the CRJ 900) and looks for "comfort" features that the E-175 in the 76 seat configuration provides.... yes the regional could certainly go to E-190's, but would really take the hit for not being able to outfit them with 90 or more seats to make the plane profitable.... also some regional airlines have hardware acquisition agreements in place with the mainlines, where the mainline will purchase an aircraft (such as an E-175) and then lease it to a Regional for operations. I agree that the term "Regional" is really no longer one that applies here, but to indicate that the Regionals that are still in operation today (Envoy, PSA, Piedmont, Skywest, Republic, Air Wisconsin) could potentially be in danger of no longer existing just doesn't seem to be the case..... during the pandemic, we did see a few carriers fold, and those routes were quickly taken by other carriers.... but this "folding" was purely of financial means.... something you also addressed in your video. Having the regional airlines "look" like they are part of the Mainline operation is also key to the customer, who in many ways is already fed up with the hassles that air travel can impose... there is a aire of convenience to purchasing a round trip ticket on AA.COM knowing the whole route is serviced by AA or an affiliate.... Breeze is going to have an up hill battle to win over customers in that fashion as many US Travelers who reside in smaller communities serviced by "what looks to be AMERICAN OR UNITED" and are traveling from say Austin TX to New York City, NY, won't want to have to check in for a flight, go through security, get the gate, board the plane, get to DFW, go out to baggage claim, check in to a different carrier's flight, go through security (again), and then get to the gate just to head to NYC.... Breeze and the network they will provide would most likely be more a competitor to the likes of Southwest, Jet Suite X, and XO Jet. overall some great content.... thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Not sure if this has been pointed out, but in comparing US airlines to airlines in other countries, airlines in other countries are often subsidized by the governments of those countries. In the US, they are not. They are a business, needing to turn a profit.

Very often, hopping on an American Eagle flight you will only see a half to 3/4 full flight. The “regional” routes don’t have very many people flying the routes. Also, Republic Airways is based in my hometown and they just built a massive flight school, building a huge headquarters, a fairly large sim training facility and just bought land to build a new flight school down south. I don’t think Republic is going anywhere anytime soon

You're videos are awesome, I really enjoy them.

As others have said, a big part of going more often with fewer people is that provide a more convenient schedule, and schedule is a big factor in choosing one airline over another. I think this model will continue for some time, but hopefully the pay gap is addressed.

One thing that you’re missing is stocks. My husband works for a regional carrier. All 3 of the legacy carriers own stock in his company. Not small percentages either. SO even though they’re paying another airline to operate these flights, they’re still getting money from it. Essentially giving themself a discount from the agreed upon price per flight.

Interesting analysis

Great stuff

that was an interesting look into it as I have never flown regional, My last regional trip was Philadelphia to Boston and I took the Acela train for that.

Great video. Living here I see it very differently. I believe the planes you chose to monitor was a small sample and maybe not representative of the majority of the regional jets patterns and the airport sizes they fly into. A lot of smaller cities rely on these regional jets to get to bigger hubs. Some places might be 4-8 hour drives to a big hub. These jets fill the gap and in my experience are always full. Not to mention the gating at the smaller airports would cost a fortune to get them equipped to handle a bigger plane.

JetBlue avoided this scope trap by not having regional contract carriers (except for Cape Air flying Cessna 402s in a few niche markets). They bought E-190s to operate their entire own system with their own equipment.

Interesting video! I have flown BUF-BOS route many times to visit family. Normally I fly JetBlue, but the couple times I flew Delta, the route was flown by Envoy under Delta Connection. I also once had to fly from Florence, SC (FLO) to Charlotte, NC. That was on an ER145 operated by Piedmont under American Eagle (it is the only commercial route to and from FLO). On all of these flights, every seat was occupied, even on the ER145, and that route is flown multiple times per day. I hope pilots on these regional airlines continue to be compensated fairly and properly because these shorter, regional routes are the ones many of us fly when we do fly.

I used to be a Comair/Delta Connection regional airline employee and we were a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Airlines. Your take is credible, however, there is also an aspect you didn't cover...frequency. The US market demands frequency over plane size. Yes, you can put an A321 in place of 3 EMB175s, thus savings the additional crew, fuel, etc...but at the expense of the demand by the pax demand to have (sometimes) hourly flights between local airports and hubs...or point to point flights. For example, at my local airport, we have 4-5 rotations to the various hubs for the Legacy3 as well as our RONs throughout the day. Yeah, you could cut that in half and use A321s or 757s, but we get regionals and mainline combinations depending on the legacy carrier. Then add in the other rotations to places like DCA and EWR as well, plus WN, G4 and F9 service as well. So it is about frequency that, in many cases dictates the multiple trips between hub/outstation daily. And the regional feed allows for the 76 seats and fewer during the hours that don't require 150+ seats, but pax still demand the convenience of timing of flights.

The regionals that I'm used to here in the U.S. are often at airports that could support heavier aircraft, but don't due to economics. Much of that is based on the percentage of fill that a plane has; if it's too empty, flights get cancelled here. I'm not certain, but I suspect that there are laws on the books in Europe that doesn't allow for cancelling flights as easily as they do in the U.S., which is why it might have a different result.

I always learn something keep up the great job

Feels like you've looked into the dominant east coast airlines and sort of bizarrely ignored the other half of the country? Western states tend to be more sparsely populated and have regional airline models more akin to the European style described. Horizon Air (regional for Alaska Air) even runs a whole fleet of turboprops. Alaskan regional air travel is such a complicated mess of tiny airports and puddle jumpers there's been at least one entire TV series about it. And Hawaii has its own complex thing going on with inter-island travel. Overall the video is an interesting look at one part of the US but definitely gives off serious "European doesn't quite grasp how big the US is" vibe. A followup about western regional models (and perhaps how they intersect with the more east-biased "big three", since that's often an interesting mess) would be appreciated. If only to make it feel less silly that you didn't mention Alaska a single time when discussing US regional air travel. You know the capital city of Alaska can only be accessed by air or boat, right?

Having more flights means more flexibility for passengers. This can be especially important when transferring to a different airline. I've chosen one airline over another several times just because of their additional flights that give me a bigger buffer between flights or allow me to catch ground transportation. Even if it was more expensive to do so. I can't imagine having only one flight a day to choose from, or even one every two days.

Great video

One other thing to consider is that 1 flight a day to a destination vs 2-3 is less convenient both for flight connections and for day businesses trips. Hence flights will sell better if there is higher frequency on a smaller aircraft.

I used to fly on a small Embraer “United Express” from Modesto to San Francisco, and then on to a bigger plane from San Francisco to wherever. The flight from Modesto to SF took 15-20 minutes. The drive from Modesto to SF took… depending on traffic, which is always horrible, 2.5-3 h. I loved that short flight in the small plane, (maybe 50 seats or thereabouts), you always got such good views, since the smaller plane was flying much lower than the big jets. It was very noisy, it had propellers. But hey, it saved time and traffic headaches. One year they suddenly stopped the service from the Modesto Airport, it was some years before the pandemic. That was a sad day for me. Back into the road traffic I went! Yes, somebody here mentioned the smaller plane is more fun, and that’s often the case. You really feel like you’re flying. In a big jet you often don’t even feel like you’re in the air, if you didn’t see clouds you might just think you’re on a train. That’s probably just fine with most passengers, but I always enjoy a bit of rocking and rolling!

I don’t live in the US but Higher frequency is sometimes nice because if there is a missed connection etc ... and it offers more options for connections. That is also likely why Cathay Pacific used to operate 5 777s with some flights leaving 1hr after another, and around 20 flights to Beijing per day in 320/330s.

The 175, which has 76 seats is far more popular with flight crews and passengers. The 50 seaters are disappearing, partly because the 175 is so popular, and partly because they can go to most places the 50 seaters go. Analysing an entire industry based on two planes out of thousands is grossly inaccurate. The 190s aren’t as efficient at the mailine level and they’re disappearing. As for rate increases, it’s about time. And now the mainlines are in contract negotiations, and after the next year or two they’ll be making more too. So the regionals aren’t going anywhere. BTW, there are regional pilots now making more money than some of their mainline counterparts.

Thank you so much for this Captain Petter, you have answered a few of my questions I had. I'm in agreement with you on this video also as an outsider. When explaining anything, you make it so very clear & understandable, like piloting an aircraft on a clear day, good viduals & no overcast, just perfect. Thank you so much for sharing. ❤️✈️❤️✈️❤️

Surely it’s also more convenient for travelers when more flights are offered.

17:51 "Breeze Airways... are the only US airline with E-190s and E-195s." Actually one other airline has E-190s - JetBlue operates 60 of them. JetBlue has begun replacing their E-190s with A220s, and anticipates the entire fleet will have been replaced with A220s by 2025. The A220 has markedly better fuel economy - despite having 40 more seats than the E-190, it uses less fuel.

Interesting vid!

Good video... but I'm not sure about that. I fly from a small regional airport (COU) typically on Embraer 175s... with flights are typically full or almost full. Schedules are very accommodating - with flights in and out from 6 AM, 9 AM, 5 PM and 9 PM... going to Chicago, Dallas, and Denver. A 737 would either be underutilized or the flights would be limited to just once or twice a day... greatly diminishing its usefulness for frequent business flyers. I love flying from my regional... it's convenient, parking is free, very little wait time, and I really like the 2-by-2 seating of the Embraers! So I hope you're wrong... 🙂

I would also imagine that culture plays a large role. Turboprop planes are viewed as antiqued technology by the US general public. Even 25 years ago, it was very rare to see a turboprop passenger plane.

Fascinating. Thank you!

Gainesville airport may have a long runway due to the university in that town, but the airport is absolutely tiny. Regional is an aspiration for that airport

Well.. legacy airlines operate hub to hub flights. As you already know these hub airports are already at their full capacity. In other words, it is impossible to increase flight numbers at these hub airports. That’s why multiple operations from midsize airports to hub airports are still existing. Therefore, legacy airlines could divide the passenger demands effectively. By doing so, the each legacy airlines can tie their passengers within their operation networks. Even though this strategy would cost more than operating one big aircraft, in a bigger pictures, the legacy airlines get more benefits from this type of operations. Also regional airline companies are still profitable. So at this point, I don’t think regional airlines will be disappeared anytime soon in the US.

I found it interesting that due to Dallas-Fort Worth being a hub (as well as Phoenix) that I flew from Phoenix, Arizona to Daytona Beach, Florida and both legs were on a CRJ-900. Probably happens frequently but it's the first time I flew nearly all the way across the USA in only regional jets.

Hi, been watching your videos on both your channels for some time now. Very informative and educational as well. May i know which type of air crafts your fly and your usual routes ? Btw Im from Sri Lanka. Looking forward to more videos.

Very cool video. Dankeschön

Gosh this is a well-timed video for me. My father moved earlier this year and I flew out to visit him in the middle of October, which was the first time I'd flown in quite a few years because all my family was just a short drive away. I've been an aviation geek all my life because my dad is a pilot, and regional airlines in the US have always been just as common to see as the Major airlines, especially out of Charlotte, NC where I live. The flight I took was rather short, just 30 minutes spent in the air, and I fully expected it to be via American Eagle on a smaller regional jet since Charlotte is an American hub. I was shocked to find that this short flight was not only flown on A320-series jets, but they were both American Airlines and not a regional carrier. When I arrived at Myrtle Beach, SC, I expected to be on the one "big" jet at the airport but that was also not the case! In my two visits at Myrtle Beach for arrival and departure, I saw ONE regional jet: A CRJ via Delta Express. All the other jets were American, Spirit, or Southwest. I thought this was so strange, because I've just grown accustomed to seeing regional jets at smaller airports and I've assumed that short, 1-hour or less flights would be on a regional jet but that's not the case! All that considered, it does seem like the US market has seen a huge uptick in low-cost carriers like Southwest, JetBlue, and Frontier, and maybe that could be impacting the regional stuff as well, perhaps? I certainly don't know, but it would be sad to see all the smaller jets vanish from the skies in the future.

I recall American Airlines stating that its customers wanted multiple flights per day, in order to get home sooner after business. I always thought that the majors wanted to keep the smaller plane flights, which have lower pilot training requirements, at arm's length, for reputation and maybe liability. They don't brand the flights with their own name exactly, but rather American Eagle, Delta Connection, etc. I always suspected that Breeze's eventual goal was to fly nonstop from major city suburban airports, which are less slot limited, avoiding connections and crowded larger airports. For instance, HPN and ISP.

Interesting. A lot to unpack here. I flew back and forth from GNV to SBN numerous times last year for business. American and Delta regionals service GNV with a half-dozen departures per day. I don't see the demand for a larger aircraft than the Bomber regionals in use. As an aside, having flown a new A220 I asked an attendant if we would ever see something like that serving GNV. His response was priceless: "When I'm asleep. That'll only happen in my dreams."

Appears to be their primary purpose is large airport to medium/smaller airport and then add capacity on mainline routes that need it.

The biggest open secret in the industry is that the A220-300 and Embraer E2-195 have similar (if not better) fuel burn per seat to a 737MAX7 or A319neo, and they are much nicer to fly in the cabin. Airlines like KLM, Air Canada, Air Baltic, Qantas and Air France have figured this out. So have Breeze and Delta.

The most charming aspect of flying on a regional jet here is being stuck on an old CRJ with a/c condensation dripping on you from the ceiling panels. United's new CRJ550 layout is has been a nice surprise, but there is still a huge room for improved service quality. I'm hoping the Breeze's of the world and new planes like Embraer's turboprop will provide another option on these routes.

I work for a regional airline (piedmont airlines) based in the USA, operating regional routes for American Airlines. The demand is huge and flights are in extremely high demand. Regional airlines(PSA, piedmont, mesa) 😮were responsible for keeping the airlines in business during the pandemic. No one expected for the demand to shoot through the roof like it did. We can’t keep enough pilots staffed to support all these routes. They’re giving great bonuses right now for pilots looking for a career.