Flying Cheap: PBS Frontline Documentary on the 2009 crash of Continental 3407 outside Buffalo airs 9 February 2010

February 9, 2010 at 7:45 am | Posted in Aviation Law, Aviation Law Current Event | 1 Comment

by Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz with the blog faculty

Source: PBS Frontline Business

…Most flights today still carry the codes and colors of the major airlines. But over the past decade, fewer and fewer of the majors are actually flying those planes. That job is increasingly outsourced to small regional companies with names most of us hardly know. Continental 3407 wasn’t flown by Continental, but by a company called Colgan Air.

The rapid growth of airline outsourcing is part of a fiercely competitive industry that keeps airfares affordable for many. And that’s good for consumers. But the crash of 3407, and the year-long investigation that has followed, raised significant questions about the safety practices of regional operators like Colgan. So it seemed a good time for FRONTLINE to journey into the world of the regionals and see what the insiders had to say. More…