FAA will craft regulations for public air charters

The FAA plans to move forward expeditiously with regulations that would require public air charters to operate under the same safety rules as large commercial airlines.

And, the FAA will explore a new regulatory framework that would apply to operators of scheduled operations that use aircraft with 10 to 30 seats. 

The changes would most notably impact JSX, which offers scheduled flights at 23 airports. Tennessee-based Contour Airlines and Utah-based SkyWest (which plans to operate commuter flights under its own brand using public air charter authority) could also be impacted.

Carriers operating under public charter authority must limit their flights to no more than 30 passengers. But they aren’t subject to the 1,500-hour flight-training rule for pilots that commercial airlines must follow. Also, charter pilots aren’t subject to the mandatory retirement age of 65 for commercial pilots. And, public charter customers don’t have to go through standard TSA airport screening, though the operations are subject to TSA oversight.

Those distinctions have allowed JSX to grow while operating out of private airport terminals, where customers can arrive less than 30 minutes before their flight.

“Part of the safety mission of the FAA is identifying risk early on, and that’s exactly what we’re doing on public charters as usage expands. If a company is effectively operating as a scheduled airline, the FAA needs to determine whether those operations should follow the same stringent rules as scheduled airlines,” FAA administrator Mike Whitaker said.

The FAA also said it is working in coordination with TSA, which has proposed requiring screening for passengers on all public charter flights. A 45-day comment period on that proposal ends on June 27.

Ten months ago, the FAA said it was mulling new regulations for public charter operations due to rapid growth in the sector. The agency also issued a request for public comment at that time, which drew approximately 60,000 responses, with the number buoyed by a public campaign that JSX directed toward its customers.

The debate over public charters has pitted major players in U.S. aviation against one another. Supporting JSX and other public charter operators have been JSX partners JetBlue and United. ASTA also entered comments into the public record supporting public charters. 

Opponents include American, Southwest and unions such the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.

Southwest and American are both based in Dallas, where JSX is also based. Airline unions have called attention to the less stringent training standards for public charters.

Stakeholders on both sides of the debate offered a positive take on the FAA’s announcement.

“Today the FAA took decisive action to close the public charter loophole and ensure one level of safety for passengers and flight crews,” ALPA president Jason Ambrosi said Monday.

JSX said that it applauds Whitaker’s plans to evaluate a new authority for operators of scheduled flights on aircraft with 10 to 30 seats. 

“More than half of JSX’s public charter markets operate in airports that are not served by large network airlines, yet there are thousands more airports — funded by the American taxpayer — that remain inaccessible to the vast majority of Americans unless they have the means to afford private jets,” the carrier said.

SkyWest was more circumspect, saying that the FAA’s decision on public charters is neither data-driven nor reflective of the public comments it received on the matter. Still, SkyWest’s safety standards for charters, the company said, “will exceed any potential proposed rulemaking.”

Whitaker said that the FAA will explore a new operating authority due to its dedication to expanding air service to small communities. Air service in small markets has been steeply reduced in recent years as major airlines have cut back sharply on 50-seat aircraft, which are the smallest planes they still fly.

“Safe air travel options should be available to everyone, not limited to only those living near a major airport,” Whitaker said. “We want to put a safety lens over the options of future innovation, as we work to further connect small and rural communities to open up more options for everyone at the same high level of safety.”