US airline Hanger Queen update – regional implications

With DOT updating its February On-Time performance, here's our Hanger Queen model, now updated too. Being able to track flight operations by tail number allows us to identify patterns in flight cancellations. It turns out there is a correlation. As the chart illustrates, the fleet is substantial, comprising nearly 8,000 aircraft. There are four pages to review. Page 1 - Here, we see the fleet performance, and using the play button, you can view how the fleet has performed over the specified period. Note the groupings. Off to the right are the industry workhorses. Then there is a group in the center. Then there is a group below the average line at the 0-0- area - mostly new models, as it happens. Above this group are regional jets with the poorest performance. Page 2 - Here, you can select an airline to view its fleet performance. Page 3 - Here, you can see the comparative performance by tail number. Select an airline in the chart and see the tables update. Page 4 - This chart displays the number of flight cancellations among U.S. airlines. There are distinct patterns that highlight specific tail numbers as being less reliable than others. For some airlines, these tail numbers can be grouped by OEM. This leads to obvious conclusions. For example, in the case of Alaska Airlines, the switch away from Airbus was evident in the data. At JetBlue, we observe that the Embraer fleet may be experiencing a lack of attention as these models are phased out. Regional Fleet Concern Across the board, regional jets appear to suffer more cancellations. Does this highlight the lack of state-of-the-art models? After all, the fewest cancellations are found among the newest models. As we have noted elsewhere, the US regional jet fleet shows signs of wear and tear. The downstream impacts are felt in outlying communities. If this issue does not get addressed, the downward spiral will accelerate. And as everyone knows, the root cause is the Scope Clause. A policy that has outlived its usefulness. Is this an opportunity for the airlines to deploy something new? Whatever is on the drawing board is years away from EIS. Specifically, we are considering hybrid-electric aircraft, such as those developed by Heart Aerospace and Maeve. These projects promise significantly lower costs and fall within the Scope limits. How long can the market wait without economic damage? It seems reasonably clear that the damage will continue to grow, and these projects won't come quickly enough. Will the FAA allow more creativity from regional and other airlines?

US Flight Planner - US DoT On-Time Data	Airbus vs Boeing - Official OEM Data
US Airline Schedule Performance - US DoT Data	Daily OEM Production & Deliveries -

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