Scope clause

Airlines

The scope clause's goal is to protect the union pilots' jobs at the major airline from being outsourced by limiting the regional airlines' passenger capacity. These clauses exist primarily in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Scope clauses are supported as a means of saving union jobs. Major airline pilots are usually higher paid than regional pilots. Criticism of scope clauses centers on the limits they place on the regional airlines they target. They are a way of artificially maintaining the pay of major airline pilots when regional pilots will in theory fly the same-sized airplanes for less pay.

Scope clauses place restrictions on how many and what size of aircraft a regional airline may operate. Some holding companies operate a large number of individual airlines, with each airline's fleet specifically tuned to the scope clause of that airline's contracted major carrier.

Within American Airlines, regional flying between specific cities listed in contract may not exceed 1.25 percent of mainline block hours. CRJ-900 and E175 aircraft that used to fly for US Airways, and their future replacements, are grandfathered in to the seat limitation and may operate with 79 or 80 seats, respectively.

At Delta Air Lines, 85% of flying has to be less than 900 miles, and 90% of flying will be to and from hubs. For United Airlines, regional block hours must be less than mainline block hours. Mainline routes flown in last 24 months are prohibited unless United could not earn an adequate return.

Aircraft manufacturers

Scope clauses have a major influence on manufacturers of regional aircraft. Manufacturers will create airplanes specifically tuned to the scope clauses of most airlines. For this reason and others, regional aircraft tend to be manufactured in families, and competing regional aircraft will often have identical seating capacity.

[*] Indicates aircraft is no longer in production

Timeline

In 2012, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines capped their regional airlines' jets at 76 seats and a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) at 86,000 lb (39 t). Between 2013 and 2017, Embraer booked nearly 400 E175 orders in the United States, besting the CRJ900 by over 4 to 1.

The 76 seats and 86,000 lb (39 t) MTOW limits could not be amended through negotiations until 2019 at United and 2020 at Delta and American, limiting the sales of the new Mitsubishi SpaceJet M90 and Embraer 175-E2 to the smaller M100 and E175.

United Airlines has been renegotiating its agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) after it became amendable on January 31, 2019. , "noneconomic" matters relating to pilot scheduling had been agreed and ALPA expected to start discussion of scope aspects.

In February 2019, Bombardier launched the CRJ550, a 50-seat variant of its CRJ700. The reduced seating capacity and maximum takeoff weight were specifically designed to comply with scope clauses. United had been pushing to renegotiate the clauses, whereas pilots were arguing against what they see as a "flawed strategy of outsourcing". The decision to reconfigure larger existing models implies that the scope clauses remain frozen.

The Embraer 175-E2 first flew on December 12, 2019. The Mitsubishi SpaceJet program was suspended in October 2020, and then cancelled in 2023. This left the US market with the Embraer 175 as the only US scope clause compatible jet engine aircraft still in production.

References

References

1. (June 26, 2009). "A case of Real Job Protection". American Airlines.
2. "Ten Things Every Pilot Should Know About Scope".
3. Flint, Perry. (October 13, 2005). "NWA aims to end scope clause restrictions on large RJs in new pilot contract". Aviation Week Network.
4. (July 11, 2017). "The Changing Scope-Clause Environment". Morten Beyer & Agnew.
5. "Pilot working agreement". [[Delta Air Lines]].
6. (October 16, 2013). "Political Battles Disrupt Hawaiian's Plans". Aviation Week Network.
7. William S. Swelbar. (March 2010). "The Future of Scope Clauses". MIT International Center for Air Transportation.
8. Leff, Gary. (August 16, 2022). "American Airlines Adding Seats To Regional Jets".
9. Pilcher, James. "Delta 'scope' limiting growth".
10. Edward Russell. (March 20, 2018). "Are US airlines at their next scope crossroads?". Flightglobal.
11. Aaron Karp. (December 8, 2017). "Embraer Believes 'SC' Will Keep E175 Sales Flowing In U.S.". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
12. Polek. (December 2, 2016). "Embraer Delays E175-E2 Entry Into Service By a Year". Aviation International News.
13. (September 4, 2019). "United and pilots negotiating contentious regional flying details". Flightglobal.com.
14. (February 6, 2019). "Bombardier pitches CRJ550 as 'solution' to 700 aging 50-seat jets". Flightglobal.com.
15. (February 6, 2019). "United's Premium Push Includes Revamped 50-seat CRJ700s". aviationweek.com.
16. Sean Broderick. (February 11, 2019). "United And Bombardier Plan Reconfigured Large RJ". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
17. Hemmerdinger. (December 12, 2019). "Embraer's first E175-E2 takes to the skies in Sao Jose dos Campos". Flightglobal.
18. (October 30, 2020). "Mitsubishi imposes 'temporary pause' on SpaceJet; certification work continues". Flight Global.
19. McCurry, Justin. (February 8, 2023). "Japan cancels Mitsubishi SpaceJet, grounding dream of homegrown airliner". The Guardian.
20. (February 15, 2023). "The Future of Regional Jets Dims as Mitsubishi Walks Away – Cranky Flier".