The question of JSX flying scheduled service with older pilots (over 65) and operating from airports without TSA security still hangs in the balance. Why should this unified pilot rule (general aviation that flies hundreds of thousands of charter and small regional jets per year) take up so much of the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operating bandwidth? The question is complex, at least from the FAA’s perspective.
I’ll bet you thought that pilot flight rules and TSA enforcement rules were the same for large passenger planes, regional jets (RJs), and charter flights with TSA handling. They are not.
The passengers are the same. These are just pilot rules that differ for some regional jets and commercial airplanes. Regional jet and charter flights follow the old rules. Commercial flights, such as flights by major airlines, follow the newly updated rules.
Why?
When I found out the FAA was coordinating with DOT it started to make sense. And when I looked again from a broader perspective, I saw that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was also making recommendations. This added to the times that what started as a simple question of common sense would become entangled in bureaucracy. In fact, the FAA established a special committee, the Safety Risk Management Panel (SRMP), to assess the feasibility of a new operating authority for scheduled Part 135 operations in 10-30 seat aircraft.
The security rules that have been implemented have been compromised.
According to FAA regulations, all pilots are required to have 1,500 hours of flying time on designated airlines. The FAA also oversees pilot retirement rules for US-based airlines. These laws were made for the safety of passengers. Almost everyone who waits at TSA security checkpoints at airports assumes that everyone faces the same screening before boarding.
The dirty secret is that there is a whole class of business travelers who bypass security checks, which we find very unpleasant. Additionally, they can avoid the congestion of travelers between big cities and vacation destinations. Where has the truth gone in advertising?
How many travelers know the difference between Part 121 and Part 135 for air traffic?
It’s found in the fine print of FAA safety regulations. you are welcome JSX. This is an airline that only exists because of FAA loopholes. It is a quasi-charter and has loopholes in the charter. This includes charter-airlines loopholes in the 1,500-hour rule. All common sense has been discarded in favor of bureaucracy. Here’s the truth in fine print:
In terms of safety, providing scheduled service under Part 135 incorporates many of the scheduled-airline safety rules contained in Part 121, That includes a 1,500-hour limit for an Airline Transport Pilot certificate (a/k/a First Officer qualification), a retirement age mandate of 65, and a minimum rest period without interruption.
These and other Part 121 safety reThe rules keep U.S. aviation the safest mode of transportation in the world, but it doesn’t apply to companies abusing loopholes in the regulatory system. Operating scheduled flights in this manner meets the FAA’s commitment to a level of safety dating back to the mid-1990s, which required that Part 135 scheduled carriers move to the higher, more stringent Part 121 standard.
In terms of security, passengers flying on these flights are not subjected to the traditional TSA magnetometer and X-ray airport security checkpoints. Instead, passengers are cross-checked against the TSA No Fly List, without further screening. Indeed, avoiding TSA “invasive security procedures” is a major source of time savings and the special “one percent” experience provided by JSX. Yet the security requirements brought forward by TSA since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 are essential to maintaining the security of our nation’s aviation system and our homeland.
We are also concerned about increased emissions and increasing airspace congestion…
(Note: Bold content added by the author.)
The common sense solution to this problem is that security considerations should be consistent whenever scheduled passengers are involved.
However, with the establishment of the committee by the FAA, at least 13 additional airports are now included. This means a new level of local voters, senators and congressmen, and more time.
JSX gave this long statement to Cranky:
JSX supports the Federal Aviation Administration’s efforts to maintain civil aviation safety and appreciates FAA Administrator Whitaker’s plans to evaluate a new operating authority for certain Part 135 operations. More than half of JSX’s public charter market operates at airports not served by large network airlines. Yet, thousands of airports – funded by American taxpayers – remain inaccessible to the vast majority of Americans, unless they have the means to purchase a private jet. As the nation’s largest public charter air carrier, JSX has paved the way from the beginning for safe, secure and reliable regional operations under Part 135 and aligns with the Biden Administration’s call to encourage competition and innovation in air travel, with the intent to take delivery of 332 hybrid-electric airplanes by 2028. We look forward to collaborating with our regulators to strengthen the importance of public charter and expand access to critical air connectivity in the future.”
That is, for this problem bureaucracy is more important than the three executive departments.
Common sense is dead. DOT, FAA and TSA can have all the discussions they want. The biggest problem is that nothing happens in less than three years.
As we investigate the airspace collision between an AA RJ and an Army Blackhawk helicopter, I hope the powers that be are mindful of the unified pilot rule. This rule is not exactly parallel to what happened with the collision in DCA. This is a disgusting example of what can happen when different rules are applied to different airlines.
Krankie is right, “It is foolish to say that it is perfectly safe for a passenger to fly on a 30-seat airplane under one set of rules if it is a public charter and another if it is a regularly scheduled airline.” One level of security is the only way. This is common knowledge.
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Charlie Leocha is president of Travelers United. He has been in Washington, DC for the past 14 years working with Congress, the Department of Transportation and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative on the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 to 2018.
