Annual Report - Emerald Media

Joint Message from
Jim Rankin, RAA Chairman and
Roger Cohen, RAA President
Earning our “seat at the table”
Jim Rankin
Roger Cohen
After US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood walked every inch of the RAA Exhibit Hall this May in Nashville, he stepped to the podium and
affirmed what our record number of attendees were already feeling.
“Regional airlines have a seat at the table when we make aviation policy,” LaHood told attendees. The first sitting Cabinet member to attend an
RAA Convention, the DOT Secretary endorsed RAA as “a willing and enthusiastic partner,” accurately describing what the association and our
members have achieved through our collective efforts over several highly challenging years.
The clear vision and strong voice of regional airlines have made their mark. From RAA CEOs sharing equal status with mainline airline executives,
union officials and other industry leaders on DOT’s Future of Aviation Commission (FACA) and FAA’s NextGen Advisory Commission (NAC) to
regional airline officials serving on—and oftentimes chairing—nearly a dozen Aviation Rulemaking Committees (ARCs).
RAA Fatigue Study to provide groundbreaking safety science
Perhaps RAA’s most enduring contribution to the aviation community—our groundbreaking Strategic Safety Initiative Fatigue Study—is about to
enter its critical Phase II. With the strong support of member airlines, flight crews and training providers, independent researchers from the worldrenowned
Washington State University Sleep Science Center will be gathering real-time, real-world science to determine if and how multi-segment
flight operations might impact fatigue. The science gleaned from RAA’s study will help airlines and pilots worldwide better understand, manage,
and mitigate—if not eliminate—fatigue. Our goal is simple, prevent accidents, by extending and expanding the safest period in airline history.
Flying safely is the most important, but not the only, reason RAA airlines have earned a “seat at the table”. Despite a struggling economy,
skyrocketing fuel costs and airline consolidation across all sectors, regional airlines have solidified our pre-eminent status, flying more than half
the nation’s scheduled flights with nearly 75% of US airports relying on regional airlines exclusively. As illustrated in this year’s Annual Report,
the nation’s regional carriers (and RAA’s 30 members provide virtually all the service) have grown in nearly every category. Take a look at the
following statistics.
• In 2010, regionals carried 163.5 million passengers, up 2.5% from 2009; RPMs increased 3.9% to 75.8 billion and ASMs totaled 99.1 billion, up
1.6% compared with 2009 totals.
• Average load factor was 76.45%, a 2.3% gain compared with 2009, and the average seating capacity of regional airlines increased to 56 seats,
compared with 55 seats in 2009. Average passenger trip length grew 1.5% to 464 mile flights.
• Regionals served 673 US airports and at 498 airports (74%), regionals provided the only scheduled flights.
RAA and AAAE host first ever “Airline-Community Leadership Summit”
It’s a serious responsibility to serve as the only link to the global economy for so many Americans, and it’s one of the reasons we’re piggybacking
our Fall Meeting onto a first ever “Airline-Community Leadership Summit” December 5-7 in Memphis. Co-sponsored by RAA and the American
Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), leaders from airlines and communities from across the country will share best practices on how to
address safety, security, environmental and operational issues – and how to maintain efficient, economic scheduled service to those more than 600
communities.
This “seat at the table” couldn’t have been achieved without the long and loyal support of the extended RAA family, particularly our Associate
Members. The resources, people and time these 200 companies have invested in RAA has kept us strong and growing for more than 35 years, and
we know we can count on them as we address tomorrow’s challenges.
So, please take your rightful seat alongside us – in Memphis this Fall and certainly at our 2012 Annual Convention May 21-24 in Minneapolis.
Thanks again for all your support, and hope to see you soon.
Jim Rankin
Roger Cohen
RAA 2011 Annual Report 1