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Regionals
Last updated 2019  Tyrolean Airways, Bombardier Dash 8, Innsbruck 1995 (WS) In the year 2000, Airline Business’ Top 100 ranking showed a total of 125 billion RPK for regional airlines. That’s only a 4% share in ICAO’s 3 trillion global scheduled traffic RPK in that year. The statistics for regional carriers at the turn of the century proved that half of the passenger numbers were achieved in North America, one third in Europe and less than 20 percent in other regions.
 Air Dolomiti, Embraer 195-LR, Munich 2013 (WS) By passenger numbers in the year 2000, the five leading regional carriers were based in North America, American Eagle, created by American Airlines in 1984, being number one. In Europe, British Airways CitiExpress, then succeeded by BA Connect, then by Flybe, and Lufthansa with its regional subsidiaries CityLine and Air Dolomiti (acquired from Italian founders) had become the leaders. Decades after, bmi regional of the UK stationed planes even in Germany. For Tyrolean and Austrian Arrows’ mysteries see the chapter Open Skies. Portugalia was taken over by TAP in 2006. But also a flag carrier could change from long-distance to regional, e.g. Luxair or Olympic. On the contrary, TAM of Brazil has developed from a regional into the country’s leading standard carrier. In the big countries Russia and China, airlines have served the privileged officials, while the working-class had to take the train. Traditional regional point-to-point services came under competition by the low-cost carriers. Consultant Rigas Doganis (according to Flight Intl, April05, 2004) predicted that the European short-haul market will be dominated by “two or three major low-cost no-frills operators …” At that time, Ryanair and easyJet already had tried to confirm this prediction. Above all, regional carriers are important in remote, thinly populated regions. Examples are Alaska as well as countries in Africa or inter-inland services anywhere.
Some regional airlines participated in the medium-haul market. It looked like a revenge. Just one example was Baboo, created in Switzerland in 2003, then flying to cities such as Istanbul, Athens, St. Petersburg, Rome or Nice. Santa Barbara of Venezuela had been one of the first trying to enter the long-haul business, but after Aserca entered in 2008, ambitions were reduced. Cabo Verde Airlines intended in 2019 to start flights to Washington in addition to its Brazilian route. In 2017 TUS Air of Israel had started flights to Athens even with props. The history of the regional carriers of every region is not dealt with here, though it’s a matter of romanticism.
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