Puddle Jumping: What It's Really Like To Fly For A Regional Airline

To Jeff and Rhett, while I don't fly the Saab, and I'm not a spokesman for my company, I can assure you that on time performance is something that we as pilots do care about to the greatest extent possible compliant with safety, of course. I can tell you that it's something that our customer, Continental, cares greatly about, so it's something we're always trying to improve. That being said, I agree ExpressJet is a great airline and I commute on them almost exclusively, but I hope you have a good experience the next time you find yourself on the Saab.

where's the column?

@ Jeff Lemon. I too live in LFT and couldn't agree more with your analysis.

Love the article sir.. first impressions are only "sometimes" reality.

I love that Martha, best dam writer on the planet !

By and large, I've found ExpressJet operating as CO (and now UA) Express to be a well-run regional that I can depend for my travels between LFT (where I live) and IAH (where I connect to the mainline). The Embraer ERJ-145 is a fine little twin jet. I cannot say the same thing for our other CO regional carrier, being Colgan which operates the Saab 340B turboprop LFT-IAH (I avoid flying on Colgan whenever possible). I am also concerned about the acquisition of ExpressJet by Atlantic Southwest Airlines (ASA), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SkyWest. ASA operates the Delta Connection service with CRJ equipment LFT-ATL and they do not have the best reputation here in LFT which includes their on-time record. So we are watching this developing situation to see what it may bode for our service to IAH and are hoping for the best.

Regionals are taking a lot of flak for their hiring practices. Im a very low-time pilot myself (122 hrs), but to think someone up front driving has less "alone time" in a cockpit than myself ( see Martha Lunken's column in FLYING magazine) lends itself to situations like flying a tube full of people to Buffalo in weather at night. I look forward to reading your perspective on this unavoidable topic. Thanks again James.

I have 26 years of history in the airline industry. I worked for COA for 5 years in the 80s. Switched to HP (America West) for 17 years from '89 on. Moved to CRP to be with family, lost my seniority and started over with the same company that Mr Heath works for. Our company is in the middle of a merger (Not CO/UA) and there are now many "austerity" programs going into effect. All part time employees (myself) will loose their health insurance at the end of the year. Full time employees will be changed over to a "Voucher" system, given a $1500 voucher for themselves, and no dependents. I have watched both Mainline and Regional carriers make some business moves, that has proven to me, that employees are nothing more than an expense and not an asset. We are a commodity to be used up and discarded. How unfortunate. So many senior (tenure) people in this industry get discouraged and move on. Then, there you have people left who have limited, or no training, poor customer skills, and in my locations situation, no management guidance. There is so much more I could bring up, but I have ranted long enough. James, thank you for the article. I look forward to more of your writings.
John

yeah thanks james

Hey James, Thanks for the article Sir. Blue Skies

Hey thanks very much to the user who posted this. This was just the first topic of what I hope will become a more broad and informative aviation blog. If you have any topics or questions you'd like me to cover specifically in the future please feel free to contact me via any of the means listed on HuffPost or on my personal website which is also listed there. Thanks again.

The general public has little idea about who flies the aircraft they are on. With regional jets getting larger and larger, unless you are a frequent traveler, it is difficult to understand the structure that modern companies operate. This is not a new model by any stretch of the imagination, however people still do not understand how this system works.