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Monday, October 2, 2006

Regionals Post Global Growth

U.S. and European regionals are reporting healthy growth this year with traffic up about eight percent for both in the first half.

U.S. Regionals

Regional airline revenue passenger miles totaled 18.1 percent during the second quarter, according to the Regional Airline Association (RAA), which reported the six percent increase over 2005. Enplanements rose from 39.2 million in the second quarter of 2005 to 40 million in this year's quarter, up 2.2 percent. However, available seat miles dropped 2.3 percent to 23.2 billion. RAA said the industry completed 1.31 million departures, with an overall average load factor of 77.9 percent. The average passenger trip length was 451.7 miles, up 3.7 percent.

For the first six months, U.S. regionals enplaned 75.5 million passengers, flew 34 billion RPMs and completed 2.5 million departures.

American Eagle, SkyWest (SKYW) and Express Jet (XJT) were ranked as the three largest carriers in enplanements during the first half.

European Regionals

Capacity levels have also been growing for European Regions Airline Association (ERA) member airlines, with seat numbers of 5.1 percent and available seat kilometres up 5.9 percent, compared to the year-ago period. ERA did not release specific numbers. Average scheduled passenger load factors reached 62.2 percent, up from 59.8 percent last year, a record high for the group. The first half results also reveal the average sector distance for member airlines stands at 546 kilometres and the average sector time remains the same at 75 minutes.

 

U.S. Regional Airline Industry Passenger Traffic Activity - Second Quarter and Six Months 2006

Second Quarter 2005 Second Quarter 2006 Percent Change Six Months 2005 Six Months 2006 Percent Change
48-States/HI/PR/VI
Revenue Passenger Miles
17,003,860,026
18,023,284,110
6.0
31,416,086,804
33,894,817,765
7.9
Available Seat Miles
23,626,193,570
23,082,836,570
(2.3)
45,206,486,599
45,144,392,373
(0.1)
Passengers Enplaned
38,864,957
39,713,273
2.2
72,541,695
74,915,724
3.3
Departures
1,230,942
1,178,080
(4.3)
2,393,100
2,310,126
(3.5)
Load Factor (%)
72.0
78.1
6.1 pts.
69.5
75.1
5.6 pts.
Passengers per Departure
31.6
33.7
6.7
30.3
32.4
7.0
Average Passenger Trip Length (miles)
437.5
453.8
3.7
433.1
452.4
4.5
Alaska
Revenue Passenger Miles
61,556,592
63,224,296
2.7
111,502,318
115,258,421
3.4
Available Seat Miles
127,816,289
134,293,624
5.1
240,196,901
249,938,289
4.1
Passengers Enplaned
298,382
324,525
8.8
531,853
579,966
9.0
Departures
134,254
129,501
(3.5)
237,699
230,494
(3.0)
Load Factor (%)
48.2
47.1
(1.1) pts.
46.4
46.1
(0.3) pts.
Passengers per Departure
2.2
2.5
13.9
2.2
2.5
14.4
Average Passenger Trip Length (miles)
206.3
194.8
(5.6)
209.6
198.7
(5.2)
Total - All Regionals
Revenue Passenger Miles
17,065,416,618
18,086,508,406
6.0
31,527,589,122
34,010,076,186
7.9
Available Seat Miles
23,754,009,859
23,217,130,194
(2.3)
45,446,683,500
45,394,330,662
(0.1)
Passengers Enplaned
39,163,339
40,037,798
2.2
73,073,548
75,495,690
3.3
Departures
1,365,196
1,307,581
(4.2)
2,630,799
2,540,620
(3.4)
Load Factor (%)
71.8
77.9
6.1 pts.
69.4
74.9
5.5 pts.
Passengers per Departure
28.7
30.6
6.7
27.8
29.7
6.9
Average Passenger Trip Length (miles)
435.7
451.7
3.7
431.5
450.5
4.4

 

c 2006 The Velocity Group for the Regional Airline Association.

Largest U.S. Passenger-Carrying Regional Airlines - Second Quarter and Six Months 2006


Second Quarter 2006 Six Months 2006
Rank Airline Passengers Enplaned Percent of Total RPM (000's) Percent of Total Passengers Enplaned Percent of Total RPM (000's) Percent of Total
1 American Eagle Airlines
5,007,541
12.5%
2,236,767
12.4%
9,254,486
12.3%
4,155,066
12.2%
2 Skywest Airlines
4,991,831
12.5%
2,417,608
13.4%
9,459,905
12.5%
4,527,477
13.3%
3 Expressjet Airlines
4,773,858
11.9%
2,727,609
15.1%
8,857,175
11.7%
5,046,844
14.8%
4 Mesa Airlines
3,409,980
8.5%
1,593,667
8.8%
6,528,158
8.6%
3,048,694
9.0%
5 Atlantic Southeast Airlines
3,123,505
7.8%
1,640,556
9.1%
6,060,764
8.0%
3,182,820
9.4%
6 Comair
2,763,891
6.9%
1,390,335
7.7%
5,201,006
6.9%
2,584,076
7.6%
7 Pinnacle Airlines
2,348,236
5.9%
1,115,120
6.2%
4,368,407
5.8%
2,089,029
6.1%
8 Chautauqua Airlines
1,828,325
4.6%
757,086
4.2%
3,359,955
4.5%
1,436,841
4.2%
9 Horizon Air
1,744,989
4.4%
690,061
3.8%
3,339,103
4.4%
1,310,656
3.9%
10 Air Wisconsin Airlines
1,558,414
3.9%
616,186
3.4%
2,979,144
3.9%
1,153,102
3.4%
11 PSA Airlines
1,408,448
3.5%
503,057
2.8%
2,568,355
3.4%
915,175
2.7%
12 Trans States Airlines
1,021,786
2.6%
441,251
2.4%
1,897,668
2.5%
807,396
2.4%
13 Shuttle America
881,090
2.2%
646,372
3.6%
1,637,997
2.2%
1,187,419
3.5%
14 Piedmont Airlines
874,849
2.2%
167,142
0.9%
1,602,548
2.1%
303,907
0.9%
15 Mesaba Airlines
743,254
1.9%
238,186
1.3%
1,825,602
2.4%
609,178
1.8%
16 Executive Airlines
723,202
1.8%
156,827
0.9%
1,363,699
1.8%
295,160
0.9%
17 Colgan Air
390,520
1.0%
73,815
0.4%
717,444
1.0%
136,045
0.4%
18 Freedom Airlines
367,848
0.9%
194,183
1.1%
606,545
0.8%
326,491
1.0%
19 GoJet Airlines
254,244
0.6%
145,657
0.8%
475,990
0.6%
599,468
1.8%
20 Gulfstream Int'l Airlines
248,440
0.6%
51,144
0.3%
479,205
0.6%
98,569
0.3%

Subtotal
38,464,251
96.1%
17,802,628
98.4%
72,583,156
96.1%
33,813,411
99.4%

Total
40,037,798

18,086,508

75,495,690

34,010,076

 

c 2006 The Velocity Group for the Regional Airline Association.

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