Well, I guess this could be expected, considering United’s decision to cut the 737 fleet. Now, the regionals are more important for United – while mainline ASMs are down 10.8% compared to the second quarter of 2008 (and mainline domestic ASMs are down 13.2%), regional ASMs are up 7.1%. Also – look at revenues. This quarter, mainline revenues are off over 28%, while regional passenger revenue is only down about 6%. Meanwhile, just look at some of United’s new routes – mostly CRJs. (MCI-SFO on a CR7? No thanks!)
Anyway, take a look regional traffic’s share of United’s total passenger revenue for the past few second quarters:
Click to enlarge.
So, in the past, the regionals’ share has been between 16 and 17%. Now, it’s over 20%, which is a pretty significant increase. I wouldn’t be surprised if that share increased further in the future.
Are you seeing regionals’ share of other airlines increase as well? I would think that many carriers are cutting capacity through means of shifting some routes to the regionals. It certainly is not good news for passengers seeking comfort.