THE INDISPENSABLE REGIONAL AVIATION

October 27, 2024

There is a lot of talk about the difficulties that air transport has to face in dealing with late deliveries from manufacturers, the constraints linked to the environmental lobby, the various taxes that governments impose on airlines and even the penalties caused by conflicts between states and the decisions taken to close or open certain airspaces such as Siberia. This does not prevent the development of the activity, nor the airlines from putting very attractive prices on the market. But within regular passenger transportation, there is one sector that no one talks about, and that is regional aviation or local transportation.

Regional transport is defined as linking small services that are essential to the life, or even the survival, of populations, with regular flights. It uses aircraft with a capacity of less than 100 passengers and more than 10, below this number regular transport is not profitable. Of the approximately 1,200 carriers registered with the OAG, more than half are regional airlines. They are present on all continents and are intended either to supply "hubs" or to serve isolated localities.

This mode of transport has a lot of trouble living because it uses devices that are certainly less comfortable than those of the big companies. With the exception of Embraer's top of the range, most other aircraft are equipped with turboprops, i.e. they are propeller-driven and thus considered less efficient, or even less reliable than jet aircraft. This is completely incorrect, but the planes are adapted to regional services: small flows, short distances and sometimes poorly developed terrain. It should be noted right away that regional airlines are subject to exactly the same rules as the major carriers and that the aircraft used have the same certification constraints as the largest jets.

In Europe, regional transport has declined over time and as ground infrastructure has improved: motorways and fast trains have multiplied on a continent that is quite small compared to other parts of the world. And yet on French territory alone, 25 prefectures and 50 sub-prefectures, i.e. towns with 10,000 to 60,000 inhabitants, are not connected to a motorway or a high-speed train. Curiously, with the tremendous development of the Internet, work can be brought to the most remote places, but these remain very difficult for people to access, which limits their capacity for development, whereas it would be so useful both to relieve congestion in large cities and to feed the desertified countryside.

And yet we are still witnessing reluctance on the part of governments to develop local air transport. This mode is often left to the sole initiative of private entrepreneurs who take all the economic risks without any particular support from national or regional public authorities on the pretext that this mode of transport is reserved for the rich and that air transport pollutes the planet. This seems strange, especially since regional transport cannot be accused of discounting prices in order to create an artificial clientele, for the good reason that its economic constraints do not allow it.

Nevertheless, despite all these difficulties, there are real successes with professional entrepreneurs who are aware that dreams of grandeur are not compatible with this activity. There are so-called "third tier" companies on all continents, a term that should be changed because it is a little demeaning, and which are economically prosperous. Whether in Gabon where Afrijet is constantly building a network based on ATR 42s, or in Kenya where lodges can only be reached with small capacity aircraft such as the Cessna Caravan, widely used in other African countries, or in Asian countries made up of myriads of islands accessible by boat but whose air services remain essential.

Finally, let us keep in mind that aeronautical research also concerns regional aviation. A new concept of an electric regional aircraft with a capacity of 19 seats was presented at the last World Connect. It will take a lot of time and energy before it sees the light of day and it is high time that research budgets were allocated to these new devices that will be quiet with a very comfortable cabin and that could be widely used around the world.

Above all, we should not underestimate the added value of this type of transport, which should have a great future for the well-being of the currently somewhat disadvantaged populations.

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