Originally Posted by
Vertisch
I believe the era of the Regional business model has come to an end. It made sense when fuel was cheap, pilots were constantly cycling through keeping costs low and you could send a Dash or CRJ to a small city five times a day becuase the plane cost about $20 a seat. Since fuel is through the roof and especially since 9/11, more people are looking to make a career out of the regionals and thus think the pay should be equivalent the the legacy carriers. Thats not how a Regional works. The model is based on an endless flow of cheap labor and cheap fuel. I think it is time for the Majors to bring the flying back in house, get rid of anything below 76 seats and probably reduce flights to the smaller markets.
I knew what I was getting myself into when I joined a Regional. I knew the pay and the work rules suck, but it was never meant to be my endgame. So, I just bide my time and hope the hiring floodgates open soon. Just my .02.
Congrats, you've nicked reality.
Regional carriers realize that there won't be much attrition from the top at their operations due to the very fact they'll be flying an increasing percentage of former domestic mainline ops going forward. Thus, they'll all end up having an "Eagle dilemma" as the next few years go on. Thus, more wil declare BK and use that process to use an industry-wide methodology of ratcheting pilot rates to the lowest competitors annually.
In effect, it will ensure their costs go downward every year as inflation and healthcare rise. My advice is to watch Eagle and then note how the remainder of the regionals match their model.
Consider it a "national whipsaw" model that for intents and purposes sentences regional pilots to increasingly substandard compensation in perpetuity.