SkyWest’s pilot-experience workaround at stake as FAA flags risk

Devils Lake Regional Airport is partway through a $14.8m terminal renovation that will double its size and add a boarding bridge to protect travelers from the harsh North Dakota winter. A decision by federal regulators could pose a significant threat to jet service and how many passengers ever set foot in the revised airport. SkyWest Airlines is the only carrier that currently flies to Devils Lake, and its ambitious plan to keep and expand service in small US cities has been awaiting US Transportation Department approval for more than a year. But the FAA signaled Thursday that it plans to make sweeping changes to regulations governing charter operations, potentially threatening the airline’s SkyWest Charter subsidiary as well as competitors like JetSuite Inc.’s JSX. The plans concern federal rules that allow for charter flights to operate under less stringent standards than larger flights. SkyWest Charter would use regional jets reconfigured with 30 seats instead of 50 and operate flights on a public timetable open for anyone to book. They’re also an indirect way for SkyWest, the nation’s largest regional airline, to deal with a crippling pandemic-induced labor shortage: When flights are classified as charters, carriers can use older or less experienced pilots who would not be eligible for hiring on large jets. SkyWest’s move has become a major flash point in the industry, attracting fierce opposition from the Air Line Pilots Association, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and other aviation labor groups that claim the plan takes advantage of a loophole in federal regulations and the flights will be unsafe and pose a security risk. <br/>