RegionsAir Shut Down — American Airlines Affected
March 22 2007
(I’ll give credit where it’s due, USA Today has been all over this story):
In case you thought only airlines based in Equatorial Guinea and Kyrgyzstan got closed down for safety practices, look no further than Tennessee, where the FAA foreced regional carrier RegionsAir to shutter its doors. Initially the airline said that the closure was due to a "paperwork issue," but a bit more info has come to light suggesting that the FAA found some of its pilot training to be lacking.
So, you’ve never heard of RegionsAir, so why should you care? Well, they serve as a regional carrier for American Airlines and Continental Airlines. And cities in 7 states have had air service shut down because of this mess. Several cities, including Cape Girardeau, Mo.; Jackson, Tenn.; and Owensboro, Ky may not get service back at all.
And, of course, there’s a taxpayer angle to all of this, as RegionsAir was receiving up to $3.5 million a year in federal subsidies to provide air service to underserved airports in southern Illinois.
All in all, a big mess and you were footing part of the bill.
