In recent years the regional airlines are coming under intense scrutiny both from the public and the media.

The future of regional airlines, he said, is clear.

There were 125 regional airlines in 1994, according to the association, carrying 57.1 million passengers a total of 12 billion miles.

The number of regional, or commuter, airlines has fallen from 228 in 1978 to about 160.

Many analysts, however, say the regional airlines offer better values.

Until today, the board has turned down requests for help from five small regional airlines.

A regional Chinese airline reportedly paid about $300,000 to have 8888-8888 for a telephone number.

The costs have been high enough that one regional airline had to shut down completely.

Probably there will be a number of larger global players and some regional airlines.

I still believe the provision of the 100% auction by 2020 could cause serious problems for small and regional airlines.