Severe threat to RJ50 sector from US legacy crisis

摘要

As the post-September 11 airline industry restructuring shifts to a higher gear in the US this autumn, with US Airways filing for Chapter 11 and facing possible liquidation, there could be one unexpected casualty: the 50-seat regional jet ("RJ50"). In his latest report on regional airlines, UBS analyst Robert Ashcroft argues that developments at the most financially troubled legacy carriers could lead to a "glut in RJ50s". And should the 50-seat RJ market somehow survive the next year or two, the 100-seat Embraer E190 in the hands of JetBlue and possibly other LCCs is "highly likely to be an RJ50-killer".