They are not related. Not even a littl bit. The company is figuring why not ask them to continue to make the same mistake they consistently make. Why wouldn't they ask?

But the realistic monetary "savings" of 35-50 (which means 50) large RJ's prostituted out to the back stabbers and ace dealers of the industry are almost nothing compared to operating those 35-50 large RJ's at mainline...or at least with mainline pilots.

The possible deal for 88-100 or so B717's is a much, much larger deal that dwarfs the fuzzy accounting "savings" of operating them at the cut throat low ballers. Even a $100/hr pilot differential monetized over the CASM is so laughably insignificant that there is no way a large, super sweet deal on B717's which the company envisions a use for would have anything realistically to do with "needing" the pilot cost savings from another few dozen large RJ's.

If they try and make the claim that this is about some fake phony accounting sorcery to "get the leases off the books" of the large RJ's they want, our response should be "cool story, bro, but we're flying them under our contract...PERIOD!"

If they ask, they are just asking because they can. Outsourcing is a religion to them and its times like these that they go to church and pray the hardest.