Are Regional Aircraft Poised to Seize the Day?

With COVID-19 having dealt a huge blow to regional airlines, it is unclear how soon their appetites for new aircraft will return. But the sector clearly is entering a new paradigm. The departures of Bombardier and Mitsubishi have left ATR and Embraer with monopolies for turboprops and regional jets. Embraer is seeking partners to develop a new turboprop, all-electric aircraft are beginning to make inroads on short routes and hybrid concepts are being looked at for larger regional aircraft.

Flight-Level 500 Co-Founder Nico Buchholz, who oversaw fleet management at Lufthansa and later was a Bombardier executive, joins Aviation Week editors and forecasters to discuss why the sector looks ripe for change -- and may well see more innovation sooner than the mainline industry.