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Airframers See Demand For US Regional Cabins To Be On Par With Majors
RAA Conference airframers panel. From left: GoJet Airlines president & CEO Rick Leach; MHI RJ Aviation Group SVP strategy and business development Ross Mitchell; Deutsche Aircraft chief commercial officer Anastasija Visnakova; Embraer chief commercial officer Martyn Holmes; ATR managing director and ATR Americas president Chris Jones.
WASHINGTON—Regional airliner manufacturers are increasingly trying to offer products that match the type of onboard service that US passengers expect from mainline experience.
A panel of airframers detailed this shift at the Regional Airline Association’s (RAA) Leaders Conference in Washington DC on Sept. 23, saying it represented a change from years past.
“I think what we see going forward is a lot more focus on making sure the regional product looks like the mainline product,” MHI RJ SVP, strategy and business development, Ross Mitchell said. “Certainly, when regional jets were launched, there was no focus on the business section of the cabin. Now that is a big focus, and it'll be a big focus going forward.”
The Mitsubishi CRJ-550 and CRJ-450 are modified versions of the Bombardier CRJ700 and smaller CRJ200 respectively, with each equipped with fewer seats and premium cabins. The CRJ-550 has 50 seats versus 70, while the CRJ-450 has 41 seats versus 50. SkyWest operates the CRJ-550 for Delta Air Lines as Delta Connection and for United Airlines as United Express, which will introduce the CRJ-450 into service this fall.
Similarly, turboprop manufacturer ATR unveiled a new three-class cabin concept for the ATR 72 in the RAA conference’s exhibit hall.
“The CRJ-450 is the next iteration of bringing that experience to smaller communities, and that's thanks to airlines continuing to innovate with the OEM, and that's where we see the continued process,” Mitchell said. Fifty-seat jets are “going nowhere,” he added.
But even as airframers prioritize upgraded and premium cabins onboard regional aircraft, some warned that airlines remained focused on more practical considerations, including cost.
“I think the future of regional aviation and the public discussion of it tend to revolve around the technology and sustainability and passenger experience,” Deutsche Aircraft chief commercial officer Anastasija Visnakova said. “I think what really happens behind closed doors is that they're looking for reliability and economics.”
On a separate RAA panel, US Department of Transportation associate director of aviation analysis Albert Muldoon said that he believed one thing that would go a long way toward improving small community air connectivity would be having more “right-sized” regional aircraft. “There are a lot of 50-seaters while the smaller 19-seat sector has pretty much disappeared. We need more right-sized aircraft with the right economics,” Muldoon said.
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