The Air Line Pilots Association cited JSX as an example of what it called a scheduled carrier using a "regulatory loophole."
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The Air Line Pilots Association has ratcheted up the opposition to the use of Part 380 rules on public charter flights through a filing with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) that takes aim at so-called "hop-on jet service" operator JSX. The filing is in response to an application another operator, SkyWest Charter, filed a year ago seeking DOT Part 380 authority but argues that JSX’s operations amount to scheduled services that belong under FAR Part 121 rules.
“JSX simply is wrong [about scheduled charter],” ALPA said. “If it looks, swims, and quacks like a duck, it is a duck. Since JSX does in fact provide scheduled service, it should be deemed to do so, regardless of the fictitious regulatory disguise that it dons.”
As for the filing, ALPA expressed opposition altogether to the earlier SkyWest application and Part 380, calling the latter a “regulatory sleight of hand” that allows operators to re-label scheduled flights as on-demand charter. “The line between scheduled service and on-demand charters…has been blurred beyond recognition,” ALPA maintained. “A complicated regulatory loophole allows charter flights to run so frequently that enterprising carriers can market them as scheduled service, but be free from the Part 121 safety regime that governs most scheduled flights.”
The ALPA opposition comes as a group of business aviation and other industry organizations cautioned the DOT about making regulatory changes over an economic dispute. These groups stressed that a Part 380 application “has been misused by economic competitors...with no evidence of safety and security concerns,” and added, “Their unsubstantiated claims do a disservice to this well-established regulatory framework and the safe, secure transportation services its operators provide to the traveling public.”
The Air Line Pilots Association has ratcheted up the opposition to the use of Part 380 through a filing with the Department of Transportation (DOT) that takes aim at JSX’s operations. The filing is in response to an application SkyWest Charter filed a year ago seeking DOT Part 380 authority, but highlights JSX’s operations as a scheduled service that belongs under FAR Part 121. “JSX simply is wrong [about scheduled charter],” ALPA said. “If it looks, swims, and quacks like a duck, it is a duck. Since JSX does in fact provide scheduled service, it should be deemed to do so, regardless of the fictitious regulatory disguise that it dons.”
As for the actual filing, ALPA expressed opposition altogether to the SkyWest application and Part 380, calling the latter a “regulatory sleight of hand” that allows operators to re-label scheduled flights as on-demand charter. “The line between scheduled service and on-demand charters… has been blurred beyond recognition,” ALPA maintained. “A complicated regulatory loophole allows charter flights to run so frequently that enterprising carriers can market them as scheduled service, but be free from the Part 121 safety regime that governs most scheduled flights.”
The ALPA opposition comes as a group of business aviation and other industry organizations cautioned the DOT about making regulatory changes over an economic dispute, saying Part 380 opponents are misusing the SkyWest application for competitive reasons.