Rickair....i read alot about the scope clauses of the legacy carriers with regard to the flights they outsource to the regionals. One thing i don't understand is the significance of a regional airline operating a 50, 70, 75, 90 seat aircraft for it's mainline carrier. I understand that there are limitations by the percentages of mainline operations that are able to be outsourced to a regional partner, but why does the number of passengers carried onboard an outsourced flight matter to the carrier or (scope clause).
If United allows for 3 E-145 by expressjet/ASA from IAH to TUL, why could expressjet not utilize at 175 if cost permits and transport the same amount of passengers and only have to utilize two aircraft instead of 3. The same amount of passengers are being transported in either case.