Formerly known as
I stopped referring to ExpressJet, SkyWest, Colgan, Pinnacle, etc. as 'regionals' sometime in the past year.
The attitude that it is a stepping stone that will not last long enough to bother attempting to improve them must cease and ditching the title that got its origins from the small commuter operations of the 80s and 90s is the first step.
Vendors.
Contract lift.
Fee for departure.
Wholly own subsidiary capacity.
Anything but 'regionals.'
After all, AirTran and Southwest are regional airlines compared to Cathay Pacific or Delta. It just depends on your perspective.
Great Lakes? CapeAir? They are still commuter/regional airlines in my mind.
But the ones with jets that seat about as many as a DC-9-10 or an F-28 and fly 3-4 hour legs between major cities?
Please join me in not referring to them as regionals. There's nothing regional about them.