REGIONAL AIRCRAFT & AIRLINES: ESSENTIAL FOR AIR TRANSPORTION IN NIGERIA

(article written August 2007)

Regional aircraft are designed to carry passengers between 19 and 100 from point to point and generally within one country. They are often operated by airlines referred to as commuters or regionals. The engines used are turboprops, pistons or jets. Lately, it is jet engines that have remained largely in production.

Once considered the questionable stepchildren of larger aircraft, regional aircraft have become an integral part of the global air transportation industry. Regional aircraft are pre-dominantly used to fly to and from secondary airports going point-to-point and bypassing major hubs.

History of Regional Aircraft: In the beginning, the regional fleet was a ragtag mix of 6/9-seat piston twins and World War II-vintage aircraft like the DC-3. There were also the odd birds like the 4-engine, 17-seat de Havilland Heron and twin-engine de Havilland Dove. The addition of faster turbine-powered aircraft helped to bolster the credibility of regional airlines during those formative years. In 1965, the first truly significant, cost-effective regional aircraft, the de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter was unveiled. Originally designed as a utility bush plane for the Canadian North, the Pratt & Whitney PT6-powered Twin Otter found its true niche as a 19-seat commuter liner. Following closely, was the Beech 99, an efficient, 15-seater. Later, the boxy 28-seater Shorts 330, followed by the Swearingen/Fairchild Metroliner, another stretch of a corporate turboprop.

In the 1980s, the growth of Regional airlines and the further evolution of codesharing were "driven by the equipment.” The carriers upgraded to larger pressurized turboprop aircraft with standup cabins. Designed specifically to provide passengers with a higher level of in-flight service, these airplanes included the 30-seater British Aerospace Jet stream 41, Embraer Brasilia, 34-seater Saab 340, 37/39-seater de Havilland/Bombardier Dash 8 series, 44-seater ATR 42, its 72-seater larger brother, the ATR 72. The single greatest technological achievement to benefit Regional Airline industry occurred on March 31, 1989, with the launch of the 50-seat Bombardier Aerospace/Canadian Regional Jet (CRJ), the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer offered its ERJ-145 followed by the ERJ 135 etc a few years later.

Modern Regional Aircraft: Regional aircraft today are breaking with tradition as technology has improved and routes have developed. The 'long thin' routes are being serviced by smaller capacity aircraft; this means the 70-100 seat CRJs (700,900&1000) &ERJs (170,175,190,195). Passengers now find themselves on three hour flights that normally should have been operated by a Boeing or Airbus narrow body aircraft. It’s not one-sided as Boeing and Airbus has migrated into their territory offering 100 seat aircraft(A318&B717) which for the first time we are seeing the big 4 manufacturers of commercial airplane competing for the same customers.
The result you may ask? Boeing 717 and Airbus 318 failed woefully to command sales. Boeing recently closed the production line of the B717. Generally, passengers complaints about jets, 100 seats and below is centered on comfort and ergonomics, which compare unfavorably with the larger jets (B737,757,767, A310 and 300) which they replaced on these routes.

Interestingly, the next gen regional jet, which was recently unveiled by Bombardier, has taken care of the discomforting ergonomics usually associated with regional aircraft. The CRJ 1000 is being made of composite materials and will be coming with LED lights, lighter seats, larger cabin windows and overhead bins. Also ATR is supplying, state-of-the-art aircraft with jet-like comfort. The advanced six-blade propeller provides remarkably low noise levels. Low fuel burn and gaseous emissions contribute to make the ATR environment friendly. All ATR 42& 72-500 models are compliant with noise regulations and have a large margin with regard to Chapter IV (ICAO) noise regulations.

Early Regional Airlines: The early regional operators were ‘mom-and-pop’ outfits run by entrepreneurs who despite lacking a full complement of management skills were visionaries nonetheless. People like Dawson Ransome (Ransome Airlines), John Van Arsdale (Provincetown Airline), Kingsley Morse (Command Airways), Dick Henson (Henson Airlines) and Bill Britt (Britt Airways).they laid the foundation for what has become today's regional airline industry.

Regional Airlines in the United States of America: In the USA, regionals operate mainly to secondary airports and are also used for the Federal Government ‘Essential Air Services’ (EAS). The program provides flights to small communities and cities that are not commercially viable to attract scheduled flights. Also, major airlines have set up their own regional airlines to augment flight services to cities and communities that require flexible frequencies with smaller aircraft. Major airlines often times have other contracts and agreements (C&As) with other independent regional operators such as codeshares, fee per departure, fee per available seat miles or pro-ration. US regional carriers have gained the power to escape from their dependence on a single major airline and to operate on behalf of multiple partners, with contracts that provide reliable streams of income and balance out geographic or seasonal cycles.

Codesharing grew throughout the 1970s, further increasing regional airlines' importance. Although they sometimes had to forgo their autonomy, they gained legitimacy. The late Kingsley Morse, founder of Command Airways, said it best back then, "The only thing worse than codesharing is not codesharing." The mid-to-late 1990s brought much greater control by Majors. "Seamless service" joined "one level of safety" as the mantras of the day. With more control also came a significant change in the way Regional airlines were paid.

Major airlines, which were concerned with reining in their own costs, felt that the pro-ration formula based on the fully allocated cost of transporting a passenger over a route segment was weighted unfairly toward the small carriers. Consequently, most were put on a taxi-like fee-per-departure or fee-per-available seat mile (ASM) arrangement. They would not make as much money during peak travel times, but they did not assume as much risk during slack travel periods. Fee-per-departure provided a steady revenue stream for regional airlines and the major airlines no longer felt they were being gouged. Ironically, the new pay arrangement was strikingly similar to the early air taxi days.
The expansion of regional airlines in the USA is unfortunately hindered by the scope clauses signed with the pilot unions of major airlines, which is principally to protect their jobs, seniority and allowances.

Regional Airlines in Europe: In Europe regional aircraft are the only type of aircraft permitted to operate the government assisted public service obligation (PSO) route. This service is meant to assist communities or cities with air transportation on routes that are not commercially viable. The flag carriers who are the dominant carriers have always partnered the regional by outsourcing some local and short range flights. By the end of the 1980s, flag carriers had created their own regional divisions with separate networks. They also began acquiring ownership positions in Regional Airlines. British Airways' 40% stake in Brymon Airways in 1986 was but one example of an airline seeking greater control over its partners. Air France Group also formed alliances with several leading Regional Airlines. European Regional Airline Association (ERA) believes Regional Airlines will continue to grow alongside their partners in a more liberated operating environment, though hindered by market access to Category 1 airports, unfair tariffs by regulatory agencies and other service providers.

Regional Airlines in Asia & Australia: In Asia & Australia, regional airlines operate principally to rural cities and outback areas, which also form part of the fleet of low fare airlines in this region. They operate local, state and federally funded essential air services programs with access to Category 1 airports. to reduce cost of operation low cost airports are being built or provided to reduce cost of operation. Access to international market is limited due to bilateral limitations, but tariffs are fair and commensurate to capacity or aircraft type.

The Middle East: regional aircraft are dominant in the charter and private business industry; airlines are pre-dominantly owned and managed by the state. The recent emergence of low cost airlines such as Etihad and Air Arabia, Air Jazeera which are privately funded will stimulate the emergence of the regional airlines and aircrafts. The publicly owned airlines, which benefited immensely from petro-dollars, are beginning to adjust to commercial orientation. Recently, Emirates announced its intention of acquiring regional jets to operate flights within the emirates and neighboring countries, claiming the B737s & A320s jets presently in operation are not commercially viable for the frequencies being anticipated.

Regional Airlines in Africa: In Africa, regional aircraft and airlines are in the majority. They operate scheduled flights and constitute about 90% of private (charter) flights in the region.the most commonly used regional aircraft in Africa is Beechcraft 1900 fleet of aircraft. Sadly, African regional airlines operate as stand-alones, bereft of any commercial linkage, with the exceptions of: South Africa where SA Airlink operate some flights on behalf of South Africa Airways and have set up sister airlines in Swaziland (Swazi Airlink) and Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe Airlink); Congo where Trans Air Congo (TAC) codeshare with SAA and interline with Air Gabon using LET 410 & AN-24 regional aircraft; Kenya where a new start-up Safari link operates short sector flights for Kenya Airways; Tunisia where Tuniter Air operate some short sector flights on behalf of Tunis air. The regional airlines are dominant due to the difficult terrain, short runways and sub-standard airports found in and around Africa. The absence of commercial relationships with domestic, national and international airlines as obtained in other regions of the world has stunted its growth. Interestingly, new start-up airlines in Africa are regional aircraft operators like Air 26 in Angola, Alok Air in Sudan and Safari Link in Kenya.

In Nigeria regional aircraft have always been participants in charter and scheduled flights. The charter and oil contract flights are dominated by regional aircraft with the strong participation from HS-125 jet& other sundry helicopters. Airlines such as the liquidated Nigeria Airways (F27, F28), Aero Contractors (DHC 6, ATR), the defunct Skyline Air (DASH 7), Harka (YAK 40, TU 134) and Skypower Express (EMB 110) are known regional turboprop/jet operators. Lately we have airlines like Capital (EMB 120) and Associated Airlines (EMB 120). Relatively modern regional jets have been absent until very recently when Arik and IRS Airlines introduced the CRJ 900 and ERJ 145.

Nigerian Airlines have been operating the B737, B727 and BAC 1-11 even on routes with low load factor. This is evident when you look at the rat race on Lagos-Abuja; Lagos-Port-Harcourt; Lagos-Calabar routes and the absence off or inadequate frequencies on other routes such as Jos, Makurdi, Katsina and Yola, which can be attributed, among other reasons, to the use of inappropriate aircraft.

This is not strictly a domestic operational problem, it has stretched along the West coast of Africa, whereby a top Nigerian operator with sister companies in the west coast operates with a B737 flight from Lagos to Banjul or Dakar making two to three stops, like a municipal bus. You may ask why? To increase revenue and fill empty seats & belly which in industry parlance is referred to as payload. Unfortunately, on such flights, the cost of operation is high, services provided on board after the first stop are minimal, very stressful for passengers, frequent flight delays while fares are high and discriminatory.

The extended range regional jets (ERJ, CRJ) could do a direct flight on this route profitably with a break-even load factor, as they are designed for “thin long routes.” Also, regional turboprops like Q400 and ATR 72 Dash 500 can operate these routes at a lower cost and provide extra frequencies that will take care of same-day return passengers and stimulate travel and tourism within the sub-region. However, Airlines will spend less and make more money by offering more frequent nonstop flights, because passengers have shown they're willing to pay more for the convenience of flying straight to their destination.

Generally, regional or commuter airlines are a microcosm of the larger entity. They are typically independent profit centers with discrete organizational structures and the full gamut of functions from Sales and Marketing to Human Resources and Finance. The developing junior executive can rapidly learn what it means to manage all of these key functional areas before moving up to a major airline.

Regional airlines are no longer an inconvenient afterthought, while regional aircraft are best suited for thin routes either short or long. Airlines operating regional aircraft and designated as regional, can stand-alone and grow when they have some contracts or agreements such as codeshare, pro-rata, fee-per-departure and fee-per-available seat mile from major airlines.

Presently, some states in Nigeria who are lacking flights into their major cities/capitals should take a cue from other developed countries by discussing with the regional airlines on the possibilities of opening the cities/capitals to investors and tourists