[Archangelsk]

Recently, I listened to the director of operations of a regional airline describe the "problem" he has in regards to his staffing. He said that to meet his ratio of 16:1 (2-man crew to RJs) he will have to aggressively hire as many pilots as possible for the next 4 to 5 years.

I say thank Panbuh he has such a problem.

[Archangelsk]

Please ping the usual on duty and reserve crews.

[Zeppo]

So, is this FAA "crisis" going to be the highlight of Kerry's attacks starting tomorrow, or later in the week?

[delapaz]

I fly a lot and am very interested in what Eclipse Aviation is coming out with (1m$ jet). For the same price as a commercial ticket, I could hire an Air Taxi to fly me direct point to point and land at smaller closer airports.

Obviously congestion will be a factor, but consumer demand will drive adoption and we will have to figure out congestion.

It's also highly likely that Air Taxi's will rip the guts out of the commercial airline industry profits because it will take away their best customers, the last minute business traveler.

Speculating here: is if Eclipse Aviations jet is what it claims to be (and that's a big if) is that we will be left with air taxi's for expensive point to point trips and last minute business travel, and discount airlines like Southwest running discount high-volume routes for Vacation travel, family, etc.

[Joe 6-pack]

It's a good thing we're forging ahead with Mars exploration...we may have to import some extra atmosphere before too long...#8-)

[SauronOfMordor]

The F.A.A. has always operated on a first-come-first-served basis, but, Mr. Pearl said, "H.O.V. lanes in the sky are something to think about" — meaning a system like car-pool lanes on a highway, also called high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, in which planes would get priority according to how many people they carried.

Alternately, they could try a free-market approach and charge for takeoff/landing slots on a competitive-bid basis. You want to fly on peak? Pay peak rates.

Have the proceeds pay for expansion

[raloxk]

"Now, to the dismay of aviation experts"

BS if there ever was BS.

this is written like "aviation experts" are surprised about the growth of RJs. They arent

never truat hte mainstream media period, but especially when it comes to aviation issues

[RonHolzwarth]

Midair collisions between jets are so rare, and when they do occur, end up being so costly, that I am sure that the technology of today will be able to keep up.

It's a big sky, we have global positioning, TCAS, "traffic lanes" in the sky,

and

something new, that has not yet been thought of, or invented yet.

Somehow, we managed to make the jump from riding a horse drawn wagon, to riding a train, to riding a bus, to riding a car, to riding a plane,

and now we can go no farther?

[RonHolzwarth]

pasted from the article: "Mr. Babbitt, now a consultant, said: "There's a finite amount of concrete."

WHAT???

I know a guy that would love to sell you LOTS OF THAT!!!

[Kirkwood]

I avoid regional jets like the plague. It is bad enough if I have to fly coach on a 737, 757, or airbus and try yo get work done on the flight, but the squeeze is even worse on one of those small jets. Delta in particular is using these jets on fairly long flights now and they are losing my company's business because of it.

[The South Texan]

Regional Jets Rock!

Better than flying in those turbo-props, AKA crop dusters.

[Final Authority]

What the article doesn't say is that many of the regional jets are flying to and from airports that are not the traditional airports in metro areas. In the greater Boston area two airports, Green in RI, and Manchester in NH are growing exceedingly fast. Manchester is the fastest growing facility in the nation and much of it is owed to RJs. I must say though that when I recently flew into Newark from Manchester I was truly impressed by the number of RJs in queue waiting to take-off. I will admit that I liked flying a 767 to Houston better than the Bombardier RJ I took recently. Although much smaller, and I am a big guy, the RJ is fast, quiet, and so far, safe.