[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 143 (Thursday, September 14, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13617-S13619]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      AIR SERVICE TO SMALL CITIES

  Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss a problem which 
severely affects the economic growth of my home state of South Dakota. 
This problem is an acute shortage of air service within my state 
coupled with insufficient connecting air service between South Dakota 
cities and hub airports in nearby states. Congressional attention is 
needed.
  The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 created significant domestic 
travel benefits for many Americans. In addition, airline efficiencies 
resulting from deregulation have helped reduce the cost of 
international travel. Unfortunately, these benefits have not been 
evenly distributed across the country. Indeed, they have not been 
shared by Americans living in many smaller cities and rural 
communities.
  One need only try to schedule air travel to South Dakota to know that 
my state, as well as other rural states, have paid a harsh price for 
airline deregulation. For numerous small cities, fares are higher and 
service less frequent since deregulation. Moreover, I know from 
personal experience--and statistics from the U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT) confirm--that non-stop jet service to many South 
Dakota cities has been replaced by connecting turboprop service. The 
result? Often, it is less desirable service involving circuitous 
routing on slower and less comfortable aircraft.
  Mr. President, several months ago I requested the General Accounting 
Office (GAO) to prepare a study comparing air service for large, medium 
and small cities across the country. That study, which I understand is 
progressing well, is considering differences between these markets in 
terms of the cost of air travel for consumers, the extent to which jet 
service is available, 

[[Page S 13618]]
and safety. I am confident this study will be very enlightening.
  In connection with the GAO study, the DOT already has provided 
statistics that dramatically illustrate the great burden rural states 
like South Dakota bear as a result of airline deregulation. For 
example, for the month of February 1978, prior to deregulation, there 
were a total of 2,384 scheduled commercial flights departing South 
Dakota airports with 186,080 seats available for the traveling public. 
By comparison, for the month of February 1995, there were 2,421 
commercial flights departing my home state but only 94,538 seats were 
available on these flights. These statistics show that at the same time 
the number of flights departing South Dakota increased by 1.5 percent, 
the total number of seats available to the traveling public have 
dramatically decreased--a 49.1 percent reduction in seating capacity.
  At first glance, these statistics seem inconsistent. How is it 
possible for the number of seats available for departing passengers to 
fall so dramatically at a time the number of departing flights actually 
increased? The answer is that airlines are substituting small, non-jet 
aircraft in small city markets previously served by larger jets. For 
example, in May 1978, 19 percent of commercial flights departing Rapid 
City, South Dakota involved non-jet aircraft. In May 1995, that 
percentage has more than doubled to 42 percent. Turboprop aircraft 
substitution in many small city markets is a post-deregulation reality.
  The impact of non-jet aircraft substitution in smaller markets is 
significant. It hits my constituents and other small city air travel 
consumers right in the wallet. Let me explain.
  Like most goods and services, the price of air travel for consumers 
depends to a large extent on the supply and demand of seats. Naturally, 
therefore, air fares increase when demand for seats goes up at a time 
when the supply of available seats declines. That is precisely what has 
happened in my state. As I mentioned, while the demand for air travel 
has been generally increasing, the supply of seats available to 
passengers departing South Dakota has declined by 49.1 percent. Just 
ask my constituents if this ``supply squeeze'' has caused higher air 
fares. It clearly has increased the price of air travel in South 
Dakota.
  At my request, the GAO is examining these air service issues on a 
national scale. When the GAO report is issued, I plan to hold a hearing 
on its findings. The report is expected to be completed in the Spring 
of next year.
  Mr. President, I cannot stress strongly enough what a problem 
insufficient and unaffordable air service is in South Dakota as well as 
other rural states. However, there may be hope for improvement. Indeed, 
I am guardedly optimistic about a new development.
  The development to which I refer is the availability of a new 
generation of small commuter jets, so-called ``junior jets.'' These 
smaller jets will give airlines a service option that previously did 
not exist. Previously, when airlines' planners assigned aircraft to 
particular routes, there was a choice only between larger jetliners and 
turboprops. Now, they have a third option.
  Let me illustrate this point. On a flight which customarily serves 40 
passengers, it is currently uneconomical for airlines to use jet 
aircraft, which generally have 100 or more seats. Previously, the only 
alternative was to use turboprop service on such routes. Now, however, 
junior jets will permit airlines to serve that market with a 50 seat 
jet aircraft.
  If airlines purchase and use junior jets, jet service may return to 
some small cities. Other small cities may see an increase in jet 
service. Of significant importance, use of junior jets could increase 
the number of seats available in small city markets and this added 
capacity could help to lower the cost of air travel. In fact, these 
jets could reduce airlines' costs of serving some routes and this could 
lead to lower air fares in the long run. All the air service challenges 
small communities face surely will not be resolved by junior jets. Use 
of these aircraft would, however, be a step in the right direction.
  I will ask unanimous consent that a recent article appearing in the 
New York Times which addresses the great potential junior jets 
represent in providing service to smaller air service markets be 
printed in the Record at the end of my remarks. Will airlines take 
advantage of the option of providing air service to small cities on 
junior jets? As airlines mull over this questions, I urge them to keep 
several important points in mind.
  First, last year more than 37 percent of all passenger enplanements 
in the United States occurred at airports other than the 25 large 
connecting hubs, such as Chicago O'Hare. Many of these more than 200 
million enplanements were passengers flying to or from small cities. I 
urge airlines to never forget that small cities, such as Sioux Falls, 
Rapid City and Aberdeen, SD, are a very important component of their 
customer base and provide critical passenger feed for the airline 
industry's domestic and international networks.
  Second, improved quantity and quality of service and lower fares that 
could result from the use of junior jets could stimulate demand in 
small city markets. In addition to making passengers happier, using 
junior jets could also benefit airlines by increasing the number of 
passengers traveling in these markets.
  Mr. President, the benefits of airline deregulation have not been 
shared by citizens living in smaller cities. Fairness dictates this 
unfortunate reality be changed. I urge airlines to carefully consider 
the benefits of using junior jets to serve these cities. These new 
aircraft have the potential to make a bad situation better. I also urge 
airlines not to underestimate the importance of small city markets.
  I ask unanimous consent that the New York Times article be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                [From the New York Times, Aug. 19, 1995]

 Relief for the Turboprop Blues--Small is Suddenly Beautiful for Short-
                             Hop Travelers

                        (By David Cay Johnston)

       Until recently, whenever Scott Hansen, a Salt Lake City 
     lawyer, had to visit clients in Boise, Idaho, he dreaded 
     calling his travel agent. Of the eight daily flights, four 
     were on 135-passenger Delta Air Lines jets but the four 
     others were on much smaller turboprops flown by SkyWest 
     Airlines, a Delta commuter affiliate.
       Of his last 75 flights, Mr. Hansen said, 45 required him to 
     squeeze into the bumpy, low-flying turboprops. ``There's no 
     comparison,'' he said. ``In the jet you have good seats, you 
     board through a jetway and you can stand up when you walk 
     down the aisle.''
       But some relief for travelers like Mr. Hansen is in sight. 
     Several manufacturers from around the world are racing to 
     deliver a new wave of what might be called junior jets, able 
     to carry between 50 and 80 passengers. They are a vast 
     improvement over the somewhat smaller short-hop turboprop 
     planes, with their propeller-droning, often stomach-wrenching 
     flights as they go right through the middle of the seemingly 
     inevitable summer thunderstorm.
       Forget about all the attention focused on the competition 
     between Boeing and Airbus for the next generation of jumbo 
     jets. What will really make a big difference in the daily 
     trials and tribulations of tens of thousands of bedraggled 
     airline passengers are these small, often overlooked, 
     regional jetliners.
       Already, junior jets have started to replace turboprops on 
     some midlength routes like the Salt Lake City-Boise run. And 
     they are increasingly being used to connect less traveled, 
     more widespread cities where passengers were once condemned 
     to go through a connecting airport, often from one turboprop 
     to another.
       In Brazil yesterday, the newest junior jetliner took its 
     first test flight after rolling out of its factory hangar in 
     Sao Jose dos Campos, a 170-mile hop from Rio de Janerio. The 
     Embraer-145 is a 50-seat regional jet built by Empresa 
     Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A., as the company is formally 
     known, to replace slightly smaller turboprops. That includes 
     Embraer's own Brasilia, which is the most widely used 
     turboprop in the United States. More than 200 are operated by 
     American carriers today.
       The new plane, which costs $14.5 million, is basically a 
     stretched Brasilia turboprop fitted with jet engines. 
     Meanwhile, another 50-seat jet aircraft, the Canadair 
     Regional Jet, has started to make inroads in the United 
     States and elsewhere since it was introduced in 1993.
       That Canadian-built plane, a derivative of Bombardier 
     Inc.'s Challenger corporate jet, is intended not so much to 
     replace turboprops on short hops as to allow nonstop jet 
     service between distant cities with limited economic ties, 
     such as Rapid City, S.D., and Salt Lake City, which are 508 
     air miles apart. Even so, Sky West recently turned to 

[[Page S 13619]]
     Canadair to replace its Brasilia turboprop planes on the Salt Lake 
     City-Boise run. Thirty-one Canadair Regional jets currently 
     operate in the United States.
       That's not all. Earlier this summer two Fokker 70's a new 
     Dutch jet with 79 seats, began service for America West 
     Express, a unit of Mesa Air Group. They provide non-stop 
     service from Phoenix to Des Moines and to Spokane, Wash., 
     both long, thinly used markets that previously required at 
     least one stop. Also flying in the United States are 16 four-
     engine British Aerospace BAe-146 jets and a few newer models 
     of the same plane. Fokker is a unit of Daimler-Benz A.G.
       And at least one American plane maker, McDonnell Douglas, 
     is trying to develop a shorter version of its smooth-flying 
     MD-80. It has not yet decided whether to go ahead with 
     construction.
       Over the next 20 years airlines worldwide are expected to 
     buy as many as 1,500 jets that carry fewer than 100 
     passengers, said Barbara Beyer, president of Avmark, an 
     airline industry consulting firm in Arlington, Va.
       Still, the turboprop is not about to disappear. Bombardier, 
     the Canadian plane maker, estimates that between 1993 and 
     2012 airlines worldwide will spend $91 billion to buy 8,107 
     regional aircraft with 15 to 90 seats. Most of these planes 
     will be low-cost turboprops with 40 of more seats. Airline 
     industry experts say that turboprops will continue to serve 
     as the backbone of flights between small- and medium-sized 
     cities like Concord, N.H., and Syracuse and nearby major 
     airports, such as Boston and New York.
       For an increasing number of lucky fliers, though, the 
     junior jets will provide a lot more speed and some added 
     comfort over turboprops. And for thousands of others, there 
     is the prospect of an end to the time-wasting change of 
     planes.
       ``After two hours a turboprop is a real pain,'' Miss Beyer 
     said, ``Essentially there are two kinds of markets that can 
     be served by regional jets. Those that are more than 400 
     miles apart, but are not large enough to command larger jet 
     equipment. And those markets that have been abandoned by the 
     major carriers since deregulation of the airlines--markets 
     that had been jet markets and should be jet markets.''
       For years, the big United States aircraft manufacturers--
     Boeing and McDonnell Douglas--resisted building smaller jets, 
     arguing that the development costs would be too high to 
     justify the expense of building jets that would inevitably 
     sell for much less than their bigger bread-and-butter jet 
     aircraft.
       ``Then we hounded Canadair with the idea that they ought to 
     turn their Challenger business jet into a regional 
     airliner,'' Miss Beyer said. ``And ultimately they did and 
     now it is an absolute raving success.''
       While off to a good start, it remains to be seen just how 
     successful the Canadair will be. Bombardier has delivered 65 
     such Canadair jets and has orders for 37 more. It says it 
     plans to bring out a lengthened version that can carry 75 
     passengers.
       Aircraft makers readily acknowledge that most passengers do 
     not like turboprops, not just because of their noisy 
     vibrations and cramped space, but also because they appear 
     outdated and less safe. And the crash last October of a 
     French-made ATR turboprop plane, which led the Federal 
     Aviation Administration to ban the planes temporarily from 
     flying in icy weather, only added to the safety fears 
     surrounding turboprops. But the manufacturers insist that 
     view is misguided.
       ``People tend to look at propellers and think old-
     fashioned,'' said Colin Fisher, a spokesman for Bombardier, 
     which also makes a 50-seat turboprop, the Dash 8. ``But 
     Turboprop and jet technology were born in the same time 
     frame, around the time of World War II.''
       Whatever the manufacturers say, passengers recognize a 
     clear difference. On a flight from Rochester to Cincinnati, a 
     Canadair Regional jet operated by Comair, another Delta 
     commuter affiliate, was exceptionally quiet and smooth, 
     taking off quickly and flying above the turbulence. But the 
     seats in junior jets do not vary that much in appearance and 
     comfort from those typically found in most turboprops.
       The main reason more airlines do not rely on junior jets is 
     because they are much more expensive to buy than turboprops. 
     And even though they hold more seats, that's still a real 
     burden, particularly for commuter operators without a lot of 
     extra investment capital that are operating on paper-thin 
     margins. The new Embraer regional jet, for example, will cost 
     nearly double the $7.7 million price of its Brasilia 
     turboprop. A Canadair Regional jet costs even more--$17 
     million to $22 million a copy.
       But the new Brazilian operating costs are expected to be 
     comparable. Its new regional jet, Embraer says, should cost 
     about $27 an hour per seat to fly, compared with $29 per hour 
     for a Brasilia. And some airlines think the investment is 
     worthwhile, in part because jets fly much faster than 
     turboprops, allowing more flights each day. Delta Connection 
     flights on a Saab 340 turboprop between Rochester and La 
     Guardia Airport in New York City are scheduled for 85 
     minutes, compared with USAir's 64 minutes via a 737 jet, 
     adding about one-third to the gate-to-gate time.
       Jets can also cruise higher, which means fewer cups of 
     coffee ending up in passenger laps. ``You can fly up quickly 
     and get above the weather, which is especially attractive 
     during thunderstorm season,'' said David A. Siebenburgen, 
     president of Comair Holdings, the regional airline in 
     Cincinnati that introduced the Canadair Regional Jet into 
     service. ``Our customers love them.''
       Comair operates 64 turboprops and 23 Canadair Regional 
     jets, but within five years the company expects to operate 
     fewer than 50 turboprops and at least 70 Canadair Regional 
     jets, Mr. Siebenburgen said.
       And even though the carrying costs are higher, SkyWest, 
     based in Salt Lake City, sees advantages in the eight 
     Canadair Regional Jets, all leased, that it now flies.
       ``The reason we feel comfortable with the risk,'' said 
     Bradford R. Rich, SkyWest's chief financial officer, ``is 
     that the plane fits into the longer, thinner markets we have. 
     We believe it can expand our market area because of the high 
     speed and comfort.''
       As far as Canadair's new Brazilian competitor goes, it 
     already has 18 firm orders for its regional jet, five of them 
     from BWIA, a Caribbean airline. Embraer also says it has 16 
     options and 127 letters of intent.
       So far, however, no airline in the United States has 
     ordered an EMB-145. But Michael Warwicke, Embraer's vice 
     president for sales, is counting on a few orders to roll in 
     once the airplane completes flight-worthiness testing. Long-
     suffering prop-jet passengers may want to start counting the 
     days.
     

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