They would only belong to us if they can be done at a competitive cost. If not then the flying is lost and the feed with a net overall loss of mainline jobs. That is the real question. Where is the break on that cost factor. I know many here state we can do the flying and meet the costs required yet for some reason managements will go to inordinate lengths to force the outsourcing. The entire AMR chapter 13 is basically about the issue. Scope there was very tight. Management was willing to face a possible loss of control of the airline (now a possible reality) to get the cheaper feed. One wonders why management did not decide simply to do the flying at the mainline. It would be a huge win win if it could be done in a cost competitive fashion. Perhaps the actual reason every single management team is willing to go to war on the issue is that it can't.
I still firmly believe the E170/175 belongs at the mainline and could be operated close enough to regional carriers that the network could make up the revenue. I am not convinced anything smaller would work. I think in the end the jobs we gained on RJ's would be lost at the mainline as we pulled out of many feeder markets. Like virtually every pilot on this forum I don't have hard numbers however the fact that not one single management team has even made a attempt at it tells me something. I know the last numbers I saw from the EF@A team showed a massive cost difference. The average regional employee is on 2nd year pay making peanuts. Mainline employees are almost all maxed out on payscales that pay a lot more.