The PBS investigative series “Frontline” used the one year anniversary of the February 2009 crash of a Colgan Air Q400 (flying under Continental colors) as a springboard for an hour on the issue of regional airlines, their safety, and their relationships with their affiliated airlines and the FAA.

Much of it isn’t news to travel geeks, but for many, the report will be a revelation. It’s a disturbing report, and well worth watching.

The biggest takeaways:

• Fatigue
  Many regional airline pilots aren’t paid very well, which leads them to live wherever it’s cheap (i.e., with their parents). But that isn’t necessarily close to their base of operations. This means long commutes, sometimes across the entire continent. So there’s a link between low pay and fatigue.
• Risk-Taking
  The airline operating the regional jets and turboprops — and a pilot up front — typically gets paid only when the flight actually arrives at its intended destination. Diversions to another airport? No paycheck. That can encourage risk-taking.
• Coziness
  The FAA, it’s argued, is too closely wed to the idea of “promoting” aviation, rather than regulating it. The airlines and their regulators are too close.
• Obfuscation
  The mainlines try to sell subcontracted flights as if they’re their own, by putting the “Operated by…” in the fine print. Consumers who aren’t obsessive about travel aren’t necessarily aware that they’re technically flying a codeshare on another airline.
• Inconsistency
  The regional airline industry has the gall to say, with a straight face, that their inflight services are on par with their mainline partners, for a “seamless” experience. Puh-leeze. When I don’t have to gate-check a regular-size carry-on when boarding a Canadair Regional Jet, then we’ll be closer to parity.

Personally, I’ve always avoided regional airlines when possible, preferring to fly on mainline planes, primarily because of comfort and convenience issues, rather than safety concerns. Wherever possible, I choose the larger plane, because they’re typically quieter, less cramped, less smelly (some of those CRJs smell just awful), and less likely to be delayed or canceled. (If air traffic control has to control the flow of aircraft into an airport, they’re more likely to bump a CRJ than a Boeing, if only because of the number of people served.) And that’s not even taking upgrade opportunities into account…

Watch the video below. It’s nearly an hour in its entirety.

(If you’re reading this via the feed, or can’t view the video above, click here to (re)load the post or head to the PBS site.)