PlaneBusiness Banter subscribers can now grab this week’s issue. Just go here.

We’ll post today as usual. For those of you who are PlaneBusiness Banter subscribers, I’ll let you know here when the latest issue is available for reading.

Included in this issue is our Fourth Quarter PlaneBusiness Airline Industry Relative Performance Analysis.



All 20 some-odd pages.

It’ll give you something to read this weekend.

More later.

“My concern is that even if they water [the Real ID Act] down a bit, DHS will try and accomplish what they want to with some other legislation,” Guest said. “Homeland Security has total control; there is no judicial or legislative control over this. Once they issue [the Act] there is no way of stopping them.”

-U.S. Representative Jim Guest

Apparently the Department of Homeland Security is now up to new tricks. Not content in trying to make flying an aircraft an exercise in secret database surveillance, now it appears that DHS wants the states to cooperate in a new plan to implement “readable technology” in all new driver’s licenses.

But not if Missouri Representative Jim Guest, along with a coalition of as many of 38 states has anything to say about it.

Click here for more details.

Looks like we may hear about more regional airline contracts involving Delta and other regional partners today. Stay tuned.

And yes, as one reader just wrote me, “SkyWest shouldn’t be too disappointed with the news today. After all, Delta tagged SkyWest to operate 12 more CRJ700s in November.”

Correctomundo. That agreement gave new flying to SkyWest that had previously been operated by Comair.

Well, like I always say. You never know what you’re going to wake up to in this industry.

Today Delta Air Lines and ExpressJet announced a new two-year capacity agreement that will cover 10 ERJ-145XR aircraft that will be placed into service during June 2007.

It would appear that the new agreement will see ExpressJet taking over routes that were previously operated by Atlantic Southeast.

This seems to be the deal that ExpressJet execs alluded to was “in the making” during the airline’s last earnings call.

Ah, ironies of ironies.

Delta sells off Atlantic Southeast to SkyWest, along with all its inherent problematic operational issues. Now Delta decides to shift its regional service out of Los Angeles to ExpressJet. Oh, and in the press release Delta issued, the following statement was made: “We are pleased to have ExpressJet join the Delta Connection Program,” said Shawn Anderson, Delta’s vice president in charge of the Delta Connection program. “We decided to partner with them because of their strong operating performance and the capabilities of their ERJ-145XR fleet that will enable Delta to offer customers more choices to and from the Western ski markets and into Delta’s hub in Los Angeles.”

What is that noise? Ahhh, must be SkyWest CEO Jerry Atkin hitting his head against the wall of his office.

Ticker: (NYSE:XJT), (OTC: DALRQ.PK)