Definition
An FAA airworthiness category for propeller-driven, multiengine airplanes that have a seating configuration of 19 or fewer passengers (excluding pilot seats) and a maximum certificated takeoff weight of 19,000 pounds or less. Commuter category aircraft are certificated under 14 CFR Part 23 and are intended for use in scheduled passenger-carrying operations.
Plain English
A certification class for small twin-engine passenger airplanes -- up to 19 seats and 19,000 pounds -- typically used by regional airlines for short scheduled flights.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA discussions of how airplanes are certified and grouped by intended use, size, weight, and performance.
Derivation
From the everyday word 'commuter,' meaning someone who travels regularly between two places. The category is named after the regional commuter airline operations these aircraft were designed to serve.
Why Pilots Care
Determines the design, performance, and safety standards the aircraft must meet and directly affects what kinds of revenue passenger operations are legally permitted.
Intuition Check
Do not read commuter category as just “an airplane people commute in.” Here it means a specific FAA approval group with defined limits for seats, weight, engines, and type of operation.
Example Sentence 1
The Beechcraft 1900 is certificated in the commuter category and is commonly flown by regional airlines.
Example Sentence 2
Before flying the new airplane the pilot confirmed it was certificated in the commuter category so the correct operating rules would apply.