Last August, a group of regional air cargo executives got together in Wichita, Kan., and formed the Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association (C/R News, Sept. 16). These original 14 members became the RACCA board and elected Ameriflight President Gary Richards to be the association's first Chairman and Stan Bernstein of Heritage Turbines as president. Today, RACCA consists of 41 airline members, 40 associate (vendors) members and two affiliate members - the University of North Dakota and the Regional Aviation Partners (RAP). With its rapidly growing membership, the association is becoming a force in getting its message across to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Congress in matters of importance to the regional air cargo industry. Of primary concern is the current review of FAR Part 135. RACCA members will have a major presence on the review steering committee, including John Hazlet, vice president of maintenance for Ameriflight. To find out what is going on in the regional air cargo industry, C/R News Senior Editor Douglas Nelms recently sat down with Richards.

C/R News: RACCA is almost a year old now. What has it accomplished in that time and what value is it bringing to members?

Richards: The regional air cargo industry has never really had a single voice to represent it. It has generally been considered just as an afterthought, a small player in the regional airline industry. So important political and regulatory leaders need to be made aware of the importance of the service that the regional cargo carriers contribute to the nation's commerce. We have long needed an organization to educate people such as Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) [chairman of the Senate Aviation Subcommittee] and Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) [chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee], as well as the regulatory bodies ... to let them know what we do and what our needs are. Thanks to Stan Bernstein and his drive to form this organization, we have now put our name on the map before the FAA and the other political forces, letting them know that we fly hundreds of thousands of hours a year and that our members represent more than 50 percent of the Part 135 operators flying.

The proof that the message is being received - and that RACCA is now positioned to represent the regional air cargo industry - is evidenced by the fact that we are well represented in the FAA's Part 135 review process. We just had a great meeting with FAA Administrator Marion Blakey to introduce her to RACCA, followed by a meeting with [FAA Program Manager] Kathy Perfetti to discuss the Part 135 review. Both meetings proved to be very encouraging. That's the focus of RACCA. It's the biggest thing on our plate right now. There will always be other issues, but the rewrite is going to be the major concern for RACCA over the next couple of years.

C/R News: What are the issues within the FAR Part 135 rewrite that RACCA feels should receive particular attention?

Richards: There are many important issues that will be looked at during the review. One that is of particular interest is the payload limitation. We're trying to go from the current payload limitation of 7,500 pounds up to 18,000 pounds. The original 7,500 pounds was established years ago, probably dating back to the 1950s. It was designed around the DC-3, with limitations set at 30 passengers and a 7,500-pound payload. But also back then the largest airplane was something like the Connie [Lockheed Constellation] that had a maximum gross takeoff weight of approximately 100,000 pounds. Today the payload weight for large aircraft under Part 121 has grown to almost a million pounds for a 747, whereas a Part 135 aircraft is still restricted to 7,500 pounds. So large aircraft have grown by almost a factor of ten, whereas Part 135 aircraft have not grown at all in weight. It makes sense that if Part 135 operators are going to be allowed to grow, they will have to get into airplanes such as the Saab 340 and the ATRs in the 13,000 to 16,000 pound payload category. If we are going to succeed in a business as a Part 135 operator, we cannot continue to sit here with this artificial DC-3 limitation.

C/R News: What other issues within Part 135 review will you be looking at?

Richards: Regulations need to differentiate better between cargo operations and passenger operations. A case in point deals with ferry permits. Any cargo operator should be allowed to issue his own ferry permit and we should be able to ferry an aircraft back to its maintenance base with cargo on board as long as it can be done safely. Other issues include pilot qualifications and duty times. There are a whole host of issues dealing with Part 135 in which RACCA will play an important part.

C/R News: What's going on in Congress that has an impact on the regional cargo carriers?

Richards: There really isn't a lot there that affects our industry, although we certainly would like to see less bureaucracy. One thing we'd like to see is more standardization between states, particularly since our authorization comes from the FAA. It is really difficult to operate in multiple states. When you're running an airline, it's just incredible how each state is different. The lack of standardization [between states] for an airline is something that could be improve. Congress needs to take a hard look and encourage the states to standardize areas such as work rules, taxes and reporting issues that impact on the nation's air carriers.

C/R News: What about the issue of security? Are you being hit hard by new edicts from the Transportation Security Administration?

Richards: Not to any great extent, although it is a bit scary because the TSA is very new and there do not appear to be any checks and balances on it. TSA programs have put a huge cost on the passenger industry, and it would be very easy for them to make a devastating mistake for our industry. There have been some requirements that are understandable, such as higher security and better background checks. But just because they have not yet done anything that has created a crisis within the Part 135 industry doesn't mean they couldn't. I think that it is very important for TSA to understand what Part 135 cargo does and what an important part of commerce it is. This is a role that RACCA can and will take on, providing information briefings to the TSA.

C/R News: How do you see the air cargo business today? How much of an impact has the Iraqi war had on your business?

Richards: I think that 9/11 had a much bigger impact than the war. For us, 9/11 eliminated growth. We primarily feed the integrated carriers and were used to growing at eight to 10 percent per year, just as UPS, FedEx and DHL. That just stopped, particularly the extra flying. If a UPS or a DHL would be heavy, they would fly an extra flight. When that ad hoc business went away, eight to 10 percent of our business went away. They just didn't need us. Now, however, we're just starting to creep back up. The phone is starting to ring a little bit. For a while we were thinking of calling the phone company to see if we were still connected. But now we're starting to see some activity, which is very positive. We're starting to see a few more packages. I think the worst is behind us.

C/R News: Speaking of aircraft, you have a very diverse fleet. Are all of these aircraft necessary for your type of operation?

Richards: In our own way we have consolidated. About 70 percent of our business is as a feeder and 30 percent is for banks and couriers. So we have a diverse group of customers and diverse needs for the weight and speed that our customers require. Ameriflight runs at about 180 aircraft, including 20 Piper Lances, 40 Chieftains, 50 Beech 99s, 40 Metros, 11 Beech 1900, five Learjets and three Brasilias. We believe in being standardized, but obviously you don't put a Brasilia on a Lance run. The aircraft are optimized for the use to which they're put.

C/R News: All of your aircraft are below the 7,500 pounds payload for a Part 135 operation, although the Brasilia is right at the limit. Any plans to move up beyond that?

Richards: The Brasilia was step one [for moving up]. Ameriflight is now in the process of getting certified to FAR Part 121. We hope to be Part 121 certified by this summer. Then we'll start considering larger aircraft. But first would like to grow up to around 10 or 12 Brasilias. Before we do anything, though, the economy has to come back.