The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has tentatively approved a plan by US regional airline SkyWest to begin operating charter flights under a new subsidiary, coming down against powerful labour groups that have sought to squash the plan.
Those unions, however, are still urging the agency to reconsider its tentative finding, warning about the safety of the planned operation.
The DOT on 13 February approved a proposal from SkyWest to begin charter flights under SkyWest Charter. SkyWest had applied for the authority in 2022 and had failed to receive it under the administration of President Joe Biden.
The 13 February tentative green light says the DOT finds no reason not to approve SkyWest Charter to begin flights, though the agency has given interested parties 14 days to voice opposition.
Parent SkyWest, which is the USA’s largest regional airline, has said the charter arm will let it continue flying to small communities that might otherwise lose air service. Its 2022 application came amid a broad shortage of pilots and other pressures that contributed to a years-long-reduction in air service to small US communities.
Charter operators, flying under FAA Part 135 rules, can employ pilots with 1,200h of flight time, less than the 1,500h required for scheduled airlines flying under Part 121 rules.
Other airline-like charter operations have sprung up in the USA in recent years, including one called JSX. Such operations have been opposed by labour groups and some major airlines.
The fight continues.
In a 27 February letter to the DOT, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) says an approval will erode safety because SkyWest Charter intends to operate “high-performance jet aircraft with less-experienced, less-qualified first officers”, through a so-called “loophole” to the 1,500h rule.
Similarly, in a 27 February letter, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA tells the DOT that approving “the business model planned by [SkyWest Charter] would be tantamount to rolling back safety protections”.
Opposition also comes from the Transportation Trades Department, a policy advocacy organisation representing 37 labour groups.
Regional airlines have criticised the 1,500h rule, alleging it has worsened a pilot shortage but not improved safety. The US Congress established the rule in response to a deadly 2009 crash of a Colgan Air De Havilland Canada DHC 8-400.
