Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

In a public docket filing about SkyWest Charter’s long-delayed request to fly aircraft with fewer than 30 seats to underserved airports as Department of Transportation (DOT) Part 380 public charters under Part 135 instead of more stringent Part 121 regulations, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) claims that this type of flying is less safe.
Although the FAA hasn’t acknowledged ALPA’s influence, the agency recently announced plans for a rulemaking to address “the exception from FAA’s domestic, flag, and supplemental operations regulations for public charter operators.” SkyWest Charter is a subsidiary of airline SkyWest.
Changing these rules would force some operators to switch to Part 121, which would increase the cost of operation. In fact, many airlines use public charter rules to operate flights in large aircraft, and the rulemaking could affect them as well, but these airlines don’t seem to be a concern for ALPA.&nbsp;
ALPA's concerns are outlined in an April document from the SkyWest Charter docket. The organization cites statistics claiming that “Part 121 operations, like those SkyWest flies today, are demonstrably safer than the Part 135 operations like those that SkyWest Charter wants to fly.” American Airlines also submitted comments to the docket.
To bolster this claim, ALPA points out that Part 121 operations have had only two passenger fatalities since February 2009 “while carrying almost 12 billion passengers” that year. ALPA compares that number to the 79 fatal accidents and 208 fatalities among Part 135 operators since 2010. “That stark difference is why the FAA’s 'one level of safety' in the 1990s required regionals operating the jets that predominate today to end their Part 135 scheduled operations and conform to the same rules as the major scheduled airlines,” ALPA noted.
That comparison, however, appears to be a false equivalency. AIN has been unable to find any Part 380 public charter accidents in that time period; the majority of Part 135 accidents occurred among a variety of operators in airplanes large and small, as well as helicopters, but not to operators flying scheduled Part 380 trips.
However, according to NTSB records, during the ALPA-cited time period, there have been 123 fatal Part 135 accidents—not 79. And none of these accidents included jets such as the CRJ-200s that SkyWest Charter proposes to fly. Only one Part 135-operated Pilatus PC-12 was involved in a fatal accident during that time period, and this is one of the more popular public charter aircraft.
ALPA noted some additional statistics in its comments, including 33 fatal regional airline accidents that occurred between 2004 and 2009, mostly operating under Part 121. The Colgan Air Flight 3407 accident, also Part 121, in Buffalo, New York, on Feb. 12, 2009 led to the Congress-mandated airline transport pilot certificate (ATP) and 1,500-hour rule for Part 121 first officers. Part 135 first officers need to hold a commercial pilot certificate, which can be earned with 250 hours or fewer at certain training academies.
While ALPA has not quantified an actual safety impact from Part 380 flights, the association claimed that the following would affect safety were SkyWest Charter given authority to operate as it has requested: “The anti-fatigue safety rules of FAR Part 117 do not apply; the mandatory retirement age for pilots does not apply; the requirements of a safety management system [SMS] do not apply; [and] the first officer qualification rules do not apply.”
The latter refers to the rule change that mandated Part 121 first officers have at least an ATP and 1,500 hours of flight time (with exceptions as low as 750 hours for certain military pilots and pilots graduating from qualified university programs). In January, the FAA issued a proposed rulemaking that would require all Part 135 operators to have an SMS, so that presumably won’t be an issue eventually.
Part 380 operator JSX has commented on the FAA’s proposal that may force it to seek Part 121 approval and provided this statement to AIN: “The notice is disappointing, both for the traveling public and for the advancement of vital air mobility programs around the nation. We look forward to fully participating with maximum transparency as part of this public process with our regulators. JSX complies with all applicable rules and regulations and far exceeds the safety requirements germane to our public charter operations. As a beacon of American innovation, we’re confident that JSX can and will model the way forward to ensure safe, reliable, and accessible air travel for all.”
The majority of the documents submitted to the SkyWest Charter docket are letters of support from airports that need some kind of regular airline service. Two anonymous comments pointed out that pilot training regulations in Europe allow pilots to fly as first officers with much less flight time (fewer than 200 hours).
“I have not seen data to say that flying in the U.S. is significantly safer than Europe or UK,” one of the anonymous commenters wrote, adding “ALPA's position is strictly political, not based upon any regulatory concerns. ALPA has had no concern with other 135 carriers like Boutique Air, or CommuteAir. I believe this is ALPA's way of trying to control new pilots to steer them only towards their union and ultimately; union dues for ALPA.”
Surprisingly, few public charter operators offered comments, although JSX provided a lengthy response, signed by CEO Alex Wilcox.&nbsp;
“JSX submits this response to correct the outrageously inaccurate and highly irresponsible allegations that American Airlines (“American”) and the Air Line Pilots Association, International (“ALPA”) have levied against JSX in this docket. JSX takes no position at this time on the merits of the actual issue in controversy in this proceeding: whether DOT should grant the application of another carrier, SkyWest Charter, LLC (“SWC”), for commuter air carrier authorization. For cynical reasons, however, American and ALPA are abusing the SWC docket as a forum in which to advocate for unprecedented and wholly unjustifiable governmental action to do nothing less than put JSX and other innovative and reliable Part 380 operators out of business and leave many small communities nationwide without air service. As JSX explains below, their arguments are utterly without merit and provide no justification for their political campaign to outlaw JSX.”
With regard to ALPA’s claim about lower safety standards, JSX pointed out that it exceeds FAA requirements for Part 135 operators. It has an SMS and flight operational quality assurance program and participates in the FAA’s Aviation Safety Action Program, “none of which are mandated under Part 135.”&nbsp;
Pilots are trained “in the same level-D simulators and using the same training methodology as Part 121 airlines…And, although not required by Part 135, JSX conducts initial operating experience training with company instructors, for all pilots (both captains and first officers), involving a minimum of 25 hours, as well as line-oriented flight training on a recurrent basis using real-life scenarios and events based on information obtained through JSX’s safety programs, including those identified above.
“Finally, as American and ALPA should know, JSX routinely passes the same IATA operational safety audit (the gold standard in the aviation industry) that applies to codesharing arrangements involving Part 121 airlines, including American and many of the U.S. airlines for which ALPA’s members fly.”

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