US: The coronavirus travel crisis shuttered these three US airlines. Will more go under as well?

Some of the nation's smallest airlines are facing some of the biggest headaches in coping with the travel meltdown. Three regional airlines have already stopped flying as passengers shun air travel out of fear of the coronavirus. Industry officials worry that other small carriers could fail, leaving smaller cities and towns even more isolated. "There is an extremely high risk to small community air service right now," said Faye Malarkey Black, CEO of the Regional Airline Association. Regional carriers are usually independently owned businesses that affiliate with major airlines to feed passengers into hubs from cities that don't have enough passengers to merit mainline service. But because they serve small markets that are less profitable than bigger ones, they are more vulnerable to downturns, Black said. Trans States Airlines, a United Express carrier, suspended operations in April. It was followed by Compass Airlines, which flew as American Eagle and Delta Connection. Both are owned by Trans States Holdings. The company had planned to wind down Trans States Airlines' operations and funnel its employees into another of its commuter airlines, GoJet Airlines. But when the pandemic struck and passenger volume dried up, it pulled the plug. It also grounded Compass after an effort to find a new partnership fell through in light of the COVID-19 crisis. The third airline ceasing operations is RavnAir Group, based in Anchorage, Alaska, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization last month after 90% of its passenger revenue dried up. Story has more. <br/>