Originally Posted by
Cloudnine
Rather than regulation to reduce ATP mins further, why not lift the 9 seat cap on 135 commuter and raise it to like 19 or 25 seats. They could use 2 pilot aircraft/fly under IFR, and hire FO's with commercial/multi creating a "seamless" pipeline from flight school to ATP once again. The 135 carriers could greatly increase capacity.
It's probably not economically feasible to fly these routes with just 9 seats in most cases unless EAS subsidized. The other problem is there are no aircraft in development in this category.
CAPE Air alone cannot produce the FO's the 121 carriers need.
From what I've seen, most graduates aren't taking crop dusting jobs, no, but the part 91 flying has diminished greatly, as evidenced the AOPA president's testimony. Part 135 is mostly single pilot as it stands. So you do have a gap (from 250-700 or so). This I believe does influence career decision making at the very outset.
The number of passengers is completely irrelevant, and these rules should apply to EAS carriers as well as 121. "We can put inexperienced pilots on 135 routes, cause they would only kill 15 passengers, not 50"!! (Not saying this would happen, but stated for argument sake...) The basis for these rules is to ensure safety to ALL passengers, not just those fortunate enough to get a flight on a 19 or 25+ seat jet. Raising the 135 cap would be just another way of getting around the current rules, and not actually solving the underlying problem.