Less than two months ago, I noted that passengers are being hoodwinked by the major airlines with their “regional” feeder airlines. All of their advertising, some uniforms and airplane color scheme all lead consumers to believe “regionals” are part of the same airline. Tragedy tells it ain’t so.
Writing in Tripso I noted:
Perhaps even more pernicious and misleading is the major airline branding of regional carriers. Colgan Air flies under the colors of Continental Airlines. Mesaba operates as an arm of Northwest. Atlantic Southeast Airways has Delta spashed on its tail. Comair flies with similar Delta markings. These airlines are shown on websites and in Internet searches as part of a single seamless major airline. However, when problems strike, passengers learn quickly that, legally speaking, these airlines designated as part of a larger airline, are in no way related other than through marketing agreements.
Now in the NTSB hearings we are getting graphic details of the Feruary 12th crash. Poor pilot training and inexperience leads to 50 dead.
Corporate and government-approved prevarication has created a corporate mess and a legal money-making bonanza as Continental tries to separate itself from Colgan Inc. that is actually a part of Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. All three of the airlines have pilots who have been certified through FAA-approved training programs.
It turns out, according to reports, that the co-pilot on the ill-fated Colgan Air.Continental flight was only making something like $16,000 a year. Heck a Greyhound bus driver makes more than that! Today Senators conducting an FAA hearing vowed to look into the safety issues.
This is going to be a disaster for the Continental brand. Colgan flew under the Continental colors, their reservations were handled by the Continental reservations systems, their destinations are listed as “Continental-served” cities and towns.
On a recent flight from Boston to Washington on Delta (ahem, Comair at the time), I asked a handful of passengers what airline they were flying on. They looked at me like I had two heads. “Delta,” they all replied. Isn’t it obvious? I told them why I was asking the question and told them that the flight was actually operated by Comair. Three of the passengers, said now that I reminded them, they knew that. They had seen information that the flight was operated by Comair somewhere.
The bottom line is Continental is not Colgan Air. Delta is not Comair. Though the flight training is FAA approved, experience in the cockpit can’t be taught. Mainline Continental and Delta pilots have thousands of hours behind the yoke. Most have paid their dues moving up through the regional airline ranks where they started our making less than $20,000 to reach the point where they are in the six-figure salary range.
The major airlines do this to “extend their brand.” But, a brand is more than simply a logo and color scheme. A brand is made up of trust with the product, trust with the training, trust with the service that is developed over a period of time.
These corporate charades where one airline masquerades as another is defeating the purpose and ultimately will only hurt the brands they are designed to “extend.”
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Just to point out… even if the regional subsidiaries were to disappear tomorrow, and the mainline corporations took possession of and responsibility for those aircraft, precious little would change. The pay scales might go higher, but those pilots won’t be any more experienced. Everybody has to start somewhere, so there will always be new ATP’s plying the airways.
My boss never understood why I do not want to fly regionals unless I have no choice. Now maybe she does. Young pilots have to get experience somewhere, but the poor pay, working conditions and lack of experience are worrisome, My husband flew for regionals a few times when he was furloughed from larger mainlines. He was the second officer to Captain kids with 1/10th his experience (decorated Viet Nam era pilot)-a few times he just refused to fly when he knew the ‘kid’ was making an error of judgement r/t weather or a mechanical. My spouse was chastised, of course (never ever ever behave like that to “The Captain!) and the company was pissed – but love of my life was right…. and every one on planes he flew are still alive.
I am always happy when the pilots (male or female) and the Flight attendants (male or female) have a little grey hair and some wrinkles-they have been there and back and know how to be cautious. The airlines need to find better ways of pairing pilots so that the ‘kids’ get to fly with the oldsters for long while-and training and pay for regionals needs to be equal to the mainlines.
@retired CAL – who says grey hair means flying experience? you could have some guy whose is 45 take a golden parachute, go to a pilot mill, and get hired on as a FO with 750 hours total time. Grey hair does not mean either competence or experience at a Regional carrier. . . . and who would I rather have as a pilot? A kid who has loved aviation since he was 10, got his license at 17, all his ratings at as low as # hours as they can get them [which indicates GREAT competence and that he's a good stick] or some hack who has 500 hours more because they can’t pass the tests? That is a good questions and quality beats quantity any day.