And it's still only a shortage at the lower rungs of the regional level. So what? Bumm-**** Nebraska doesn't get air service subsidized by the tax payer. If air service is that important in somebody's life, they need to move closer to a bigger airport.

Yeah! You should spend your life savings and shut down the family business because if you were serious about going on vacation, you'd live in cities like the rest of 'Murica. While we are at it, let's cut all subsidies to Alaska. If they wanted food and ways to get to see the doctor, they'd quit being lazy and move to NY and Texas where all real 'Muricans live.

The country will suffer from airlines inability to properly prepare and staff.

The seven P's.

"We need to hire more mexicans and monkeys to staff our planes and we'll be just fine!!" says management.

You went to school and grew up wanting to be an airline pilot - band together! We are only hurting each other by accepting the fact that flying an airplane is a "privilege"...while you're at it - google 1960's airline passengers and then google 2013 airline passengers ---- we are glorified bus drivers.

Huh? Subsidy to me has pretty much always meant something is not pulling its own weight/self suppoting. Why should the taxpayer help fund airline service to Podunk USA? For the record, I grew up in Podunk, USA and would move back if my wife didn't own me...I LOVE the rural lifestyle, but there are some caveats.

I live in a city that's just big enough to not be EAS (Casper, WY).

Flights to go back to the East Coast are sometimes $1000 more per person R/T out of Casper then Denver. Sometimes they are cheaper, even though it's an additional leg and the rest of the flight stays the same.

I accept the fact that living in Casper, I often have to drive 4+ hours one way to DEN to get an affordable plane ticket. My wife will drive 4+ hours to avoid flying on United, even if the price is the same.

Living in BFE is a choice. It comes with downsides. I think EAS should go away personally.

Yes, ExxonMobil, Boeing, Caterpillar, Pfizer, every NFL team --- they're all not pulling their own weight. :rolleyes:

Well, in Nebraska and most of the places in the lower 48 that get EAS, there are friggin roads and highways. In fact, many of the places that get EAS are on major interstate routes around 2hrs or less than the bigger hubs. I know quite a few of the airports served by Great Lakes that fall into that situation (and even closer to the hub).

That's not the same as Alaska. There are no roads out there. Whether it's wrong or right for people to be living there, it's not the same IMO. Unfortunately many of these Alaskan villages are bloated past what can be supported "by the land" due to the EAS, so now it's an intangible situation where you'd have to rip people from their homes or let them die.

But in that same idea, the only thing that I'd consider subsidizing for all of these communities is EMS stuff Medicaid pays for lots of flights here in Alaska. There's lots of waste in that too, but thinking about down south where you actually have roads, to subsidize a regional airline flying into your town because you don't want to take an airport shuttle 2hrs to the hub (and bypass parking and walking) is beyond ridiculous. That is not a situation that is anywhere near as "out of your hands" as growing up and living in a village 700+ miles outside of the nearest road system.

http://crankyflier.com/wp-content/up...sbusdriver.jpg :D

Agreed on the first part. But on the second part, most villages have actually been shrinking for a while now and many are a shell of their former selves.
On the turboprop note, we have lots of those (208, 1900, dash 8, slaab, etc)! From what I can tell no one is clamoring for pilots to fly them.

I'm not sure why my tax dollars are going to those ends either.