Airlines And Regional Air Carriers To Be Audited By OIG For Safety

August 20, 2010 - The Office of Inspector General (OIG) plans to audit domestic code share agreements between mainline and regional air carriers.

These agreements allow mainline and regional carriers to coordinate their flight schedules so that the regional carriers marketed under the name of the mainline carrier can provide passengers with connections from cities that cannot support major airline jet service to larger hub cities served by major air carriers. 

As code share agreements become a more integral part of the aviation system, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have made it a top priority to ensure the safety of passengers who depend on those flights.

There are more than 13,000 regional airline flights every day and approximately 160 million passengers travelling on regional aircraft each year. Regional air carriers use smaller aircraft to connect cities that cannot support major airline jet service to larger hub cities served by major air carriers. To do so, the mainline and regional carrier create a joint marketing agreement, known as code sharing, which allows them to coordinate flight schedules in order to interchange passengers.

Under these agreements, the mainline carrier allows the regional airline to (1) use the mainline carrier?s reservation system and flight designator code to identify flights and fares in computer reservation systems; (2) utilize the mainline carrier?s paint scheme, logos, service marks, and uniforms and (3) participate in joint promotion and advertising. As a result, passengers receive lower fares and more seamless travel, regional carriers benefit from the recognition connected to the mainline carrier selling the tickets, and mainline carriers gain access to additional and smaller aircraft with no ownership stake for bringing passengers to their hub.

Given these benefits, airlines are increasingly using code share agreements. As these agreements become a more integral part of the aviation system, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have made it a top priority to ensure the safety of passengers who depend on those flights. This is particularly critical given that seven of the last nine domestic, commercial airline crashes have involved regional air carriers flying under code share agreements.

On February 3, 2010, James L. Oberstar, Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Jerry F. Costello, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation, requested that we review domestic code share relationships. OIG will begin the audit later this month and the audit will include visits to FAA Headquarters and regional offices as well as Flight Standards Service field offices.