50-seats Will Continue to Fall

In its latest forecast of aviation activity, the Federal Aviation Administration said that the number of 50 seaters will continue to fall as the demand for 70- to 90-seat jets increase. This should be a relief for the FAA which recently imposed congestion rules at O'Hare and LaGuardia calling for the replacement of 50-seaters with larger aircraft to squeeze more capacity out of the system. In addition, FAA indicated regional capacity is forecast to grow 2.9 percent this year as Legacy carriers continue to improve. Legacy capacity is expected to increase 2.1 percent. Revenue passengers miles will increase 2.8 percent while enplanements are expect to increase at a faster clip of 3.6 percent. Domestic passenger trip length is expected to drop by seven miles as mainline remains steady and LCCs fall. The average aircraft size will rise by 0.3 seats to 120.5 seats. For a complete analysis see the March 26 edition of Regional Aviation News.