By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Airlines and pilots who fly for them are following the money, and it’s unlikely Del Rio will see restoration of commercial air service before next year, the representative of an aviation consulting firm told city officials recently.
Mike Mooney of Volaire Aviation Consulting spoke about the airline industry, air service in Texas and Del Rio and restoring commercial air service at Del Rio International Airport during a joint meeting of the Del Rio City Council and the International Airport commission on April 12.
Mooney started his presentation with a slide titled “The Pilot Shortage Drives Every Airline Route Decision.”
“That right there is the problem. We don’t have enough pilots in the United States that meet the qualifications that the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has for pilots, and that is the source of all the agony in rural America, and I do want to point out to you: You’re not alone. What’s going on with you and your air service is going on all over the United States,” Mooney told the council and commission members.
That shortage of pilots, Mooney said, “is constraining service restoration and service expansion.”
“The regional carriers, the small end of the game, are being hit the hardest, but even the network carriers and the ultra low-cost carriers are having trouble keeping their pilot pipeline full. . . It’s a challenge everywhere,” Mooney said.
He noted the retirement curve for pilots is still ahead of the qualified new hire curve and that pilot productivity has slipped in the years following COVID-19, as it has in other industries.
Mooney said domestic air traffic numbers are going up, and “leisure air travel demand appears to be fully recovered from the pandemic,” though he added there have been “fundamental shifts in business travel, with demand remaining below pre-pandemic levels.”
Mooney delved into details of the pilot shortage, noting, “Pilot salaries are soaring, with even regional carriers offering six-figure signing bonuses. . . The airline industry is desperate for pilots, and they’re paying a lot.”
He said the biggest impact, though, is that the pilot shortage has accelerated the retirement of 50-seat regional jets flown by network carriers.
“Del Rio is a perfect 50-seat regional jet market. Perfect; and yet, if you run an airline today and you’re looking at your network and you’ve got big airplanes and medium airplanes and small airplanes, and I’m short pilots, what am I going to do? I’m going to get all the pilots out of the small airplanes and put them into bigger airplanes. That’s just common-sense business,” Mooney said.
He added American Airlines will eliminate all 50-seat commercial air service in May. Only 1 percent of Delta’s domestic departures in May will be in 50-seat airplanes, and United’s 50-seat departures are down 22 percent between July 2022 and May 2023.
Mooney said 50-seat regional jets are being refitted as 30-seat carriers so “they can use retired captains who are older than 65, kind of a side-step around the pilot shortage.”
“The bottom line: Smaller cities are confronted with the need to profitably support 65-seat or 76-seat regional jets or downgrade to 30-seat regional jets or nine-seat turboprops,” Mooney said.
Mooney also gave an overview of commercial air service in Texas.
He provided TSA screening data that showed airports in Del Rio’s “peer group,” airports like San Angelo, Abilene, Tyler, College Station, Waco and Laredo, posted a year-to-year decrease of just under 2 percent over the past year.
“But the pain of this situation, again, 2022 screenings for Del Rio were up 28.9 percent over 2021. You had a record year, and yet the airline is pulling out,” Mooney said.
He was quick to point out that “American is not the villain here,” noting other network carriers are making similar moves, with United ending air service in Abilene, College Station, Killeen and San Angelo.
“I want to emphasize: I used to be an airline executive. I understand that side of the table. It’s capitalism. It’s cold capitalism, but that’s what it is. Their job is to make money for their shareholders and pay their employees and buy new airplanes, so I don’t want American to be judged as a villain, and I certainly hope they’re not,” Mooney said.
Mooney next discussed commercial air service in Del Rio, repeating that the airport experienced a record in 2022, with 50,530 enplanements.
Action plan
Finally, Mooney reviewed the current action plan to attempt to restore air service to Del Rio.
Mooney said up front that network carriers are “risk averse” given the pilot shortage and ongoing inflation challenges and warned those attending the meeting, “It is likely that risk mitigation will have to be offered to gain a carrier commitment.”
He said retention of existing infrastructure at the airport, including TSA’s equipment and the ARFF airport firefighting apparatus is crucial.
Mooney said his company is helping the city apply for a Small Community Air Service Development (SCASD) grant from the Department of Transportation, with a grant award to be made in August or September, possibly later. He said the application will need support letters from residents, Laughlin Air Force Base, business owners and elected leaders.
Mooney told the group city leaders “will need to assemble matching funds commitments.”
“The more local commitment, the more highly DOT rates the grant application. It shows them you have skin in the game. . . They want to see community involvement,” Mooney said.
Mooney said depending on the grant award, the earliest he sees air service restored is the fourth quarter of this year, but is more likely to slip to the first or second quarter of 2024.
Following Mooney’s presentation, he fielded questions and listened to comments from council and commission members.
Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com .
