Another regional airline falls to the Covid-19 recession
The Big Three US airlines are unlikely to dismantle the regional carrier model any time soon, so long as they rely on massive hubs to generate profits. This outlook is from the CEO of ExpressJet Airlines, one of the largest regional carriers in America, and one which plans to shut down this year. ExpressJet is the fourth US regional airline to collapse since the Covid-19 pandemic decimated air travel. Through a subsidiary, United owns 49.9% of the airline, which it acquired from SkyWest in late 2018 to bolster its regional flying. United has decided to end its flights with ExpressJet as part of the carrier’s broader, pandemic-induced retrenchment. At one time, the regional airline—formerly Continental Express—was among the world’s top 10 by fleet size, with more than 400 aircraft. It also operated as an independent and charter carrier at various points in its history. But those days are over. “It’s a proud old company that’s had more life than a cat,” CEO Subodh Karnik said Monday, pledging an orderly transition for the airline’s 131 Embraer SA 145 jets and the “mountain of parts” it has subleased from United. “If there are airlines that have to have hubs, there is no way that the small-airline model is going to die.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2020-08-05/unaligned/another-regional-airline-falls-to-the-covid-19-recession
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Another regional airline falls to the Covid-19 recession
The Big Three US airlines are unlikely to dismantle the regional carrier model any time soon, so long as they rely on massive hubs to generate profits. This outlook is from the CEO of ExpressJet Airlines, one of the largest regional carriers in America, and one which plans to shut down this year. ExpressJet is the fourth US regional airline to collapse since the Covid-19 pandemic decimated air travel. Through a subsidiary, United owns 49.9% of the airline, which it acquired from SkyWest in late 2018 to bolster its regional flying. United has decided to end its flights with ExpressJet as part of the carrier’s broader, pandemic-induced retrenchment. At one time, the regional airline—formerly Continental Express—was among the world’s top 10 by fleet size, with more than 400 aircraft. It also operated as an independent and charter carrier at various points in its history. But those days are over. “It’s a proud old company that’s had more life than a cat,” CEO Subodh Karnik said Monday, pledging an orderly transition for the airline’s 131 Embraer SA 145 jets and the “mountain of parts” it has subleased from United. “If there are airlines that have to have hubs, there is no way that the small-airline model is going to die.”<br/>
