HTN: Half of Buffalo Flights are Commuter Planes

A new report out of Washington shows thaat regional airlines now account for nearly half of the flights from Buffalo to destinations across the U.S., as well as local routes to major airports like LaGuardia and Reagan National. The report, which concentrated on data from mid-July 2008, showed 46-percent of planes were flown by regional carriers, despite the Continental, Delta, US Airways or United stamped on the ticket. Also, many of the planes being flown along those routes are no longer big jets, but small regional jets and propeller planes, such as the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, the type of plane used in the Colgan Air-operated Continental Connection flight 3407 between Newark and Buffalo which killed 50 people. Colgan also operates US Airways' Buffalo to Albany route.