Major Airlines Increase Passenger Flights on Regional Partners, Confuse and Frustrate Fliers

 With the vast emptiness of the sky, it seems almost impossible to imagine that traffic jams and overcrowding can exist in the same way that it does on the ground in the busiest of American metropolitan areas. However, increases in flights with regional airline companies are doing just that – clogging everything up.

USA today researched that about 53 percent of all commercial airline flights in the United States are flown by regional carriers. This is a result of major airline companies establishing affiliations with smaller regional airlines and allowing flyers who book with major airlines to have their tickets be passed down to regional carriers.

Besides the deception that comes with thinking that you’re going to be flying with a major airline when you’re really flying with a company you’ve never heard of, what’s the problem? They’re affiliated with the majors, so isn’t it the same thing?

Not exactly.

As far as safety standards are concerned, the United States boasts a strong air travel safety record. There is a disparity, however, in the flight safety records between “major” airlines and regional aircraft. While there hasn’t been a fatal “major” airline accident in the United States since 2001, there have been 5 different regional airline accidents operating in affiliation with major airline companies since then, leading to 135 deaths.

In addition to general flight safety, being passed off to a regional aircraft has other small, but annoying setbacks. Cabins are generally smaller, leading smaller and more cramped seating arrangements.

You’d be happy to deal with the uncomfortable seats if the regional airline even takes off in the first place. Regional flights ranked last in amount of cancelled flights and involuntary bumping of passengers. Regional carriers also had the most mishandled baggage, adding to an already poor reputation.

Smaller regional carriers began as a way to fly to more rural areas, but now every morning regional airlines fly 30 to 35 nonstop flights between New York and Washington, DC, creating overcrowding on the airfield, in the air, and at check in stations for passengers.

Even frequent fliers are finding themselves getting duped by major airlines into thinking they’re flying with one carrier when they’re really on another. The best way to be sure a flight is with a reputable major airline is to find out explicitly what airline is operating the flight, because booking with a major doesn’t necessarily mean you’re flying with a major. 

Michael Patton, CEO of POTHOS, had this to say on the quality of service from regional carrier SkyWest and Republic Airlines:

"It is from personal experience that I can tell you SkyWest (United's regional carrier from San Diego to LAX) cares absolutely NOTHING for its passengers. The Skywest staff will lie when it is to their advantage and they have no honor. I do realize the significance of this broad generalization, but over the last 8 years, I can tell you this to be absolutely the rule, not the exception from this personal experience. Republic airlines, on the other hand, does an exceptional job."

If you are booking your flights with a travel agency such as POTHOS, we always list explicitly on the itinerary the name of the actual carrier.