USMCFLYR

Judge rules Flight 3407 families can pursue unlimited punitive damages; airlines sought cap - The Washington Post

USMCFLYR

Cubdriver

Of course there are numerous chapters in a legal battle like this but you have to wonder what the final result will be if the families do win. If that happens, it seems like the risk of being sued negates the value of having a regional airline to begin with. You have to wonder how long it would remain profitable. Perhaps the actual numbers show they could still lose and make money. However, air crash lawsuits have had serious consequences in the past, think about Cessna stopping all piston production between 1985-1995.

rickair7777

There have been a steady procession of fatal regional/commuter accidents over the years, mostly turboprops. Most of them were under codeshare with a major, and it hasn't deterred anyone yet. 50-70 seaters get more press coverage than a BE-1900 though.

I suspect the added insurance costs (if any) are still a lot cheaper than mainline pilots.

Human life really does have a dollar value in the airline business, and you could probably calculate what it is by determining the delta between liability costs and how much money is saved on outsourced labor.

Grumble

Therin lies the rub. With no ceiling, it could get ugly. What's going to get even uglier is if the mainline carrier they're operating under is found liable as well.

PurplePromissee

The link to the WP story was broken, was the ruling that there would be no dollar value cap on the PDs? If so, that would still leave any award subject to established case law that PDs must be "reasonable and related to the conduct of the liable party." typically any jury awards for PDs over about 3 times the compensatory damages gets revised down on that basis, and jury awards over a 4 to 1 ratio almost always get revised down on Constitutional grounds (due process, unlawful taking, etc.). It's possible that the ruling could have thrown out the "reasonable" test (but unlikely); however, there's no way the court ruled to ignore the Constitutional precedent.

So as a result of refusing to set a dollar value cap, all the court did was choose sides politically in the tort reform/PD cap debate for whatever jurisdiction it presides over. It didn't empower 12 angry men to fleece the airline into bankruptcy.

APC225

If the majors can't shield themselves from liability by outsourcing, it removes a major cost incentive to outsource.

Published: Sept. 28, 2011 at 5:09 PM
BUFFALO, N.Y., Sept. 28 (UPI) -- A federal judge has ordered Continental Airlines to give the families of those killed in a crash near Buffalo, N.Y., information on pilot training.

Lawyers for the families say the information will help them answer questions like whether pilots for feeder airlines receive less pay and less training than those for national carriers, The Buffalo News reported.

The crash of Continental Connections Flight 3407 in Clarence Center, N.Y., in February 2009 killed 49 people on the plane and one on the ground. The plane was owned and operated by Colgan Air.

"We suspect the safety of regional carriers is less than national carriers," Hugh M. Russ III, a lawyer for several families, said Tuesday. "The documentation we will receive under this order should shed some light on that issue."

Federal investigators have blamed the crash on pilot error.

U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny ruled in favor of the plaintiffs this week.

Elvis90

Judge rules Flight 3407 families can pursue unlimited punitive damages; airlines sought cap - Yahoo! News

This link works. Will this reduce the use of regional carriers by mainline companies?

olympic

I Hope ...! We need to put an end to these regional carriers who pay peanuts , thus putting safety at risk.

Astra SPx

Olympic

How about Aegeans starting wage with the Athens cost of living? It's not just regionals paying peanuts over that side of the pond, I'm sure you are aware...