Sorry XJT however you are the one with a flawed argument. The regionals will continue to be a part of this industry but they are far from being the "future" as you call it.

Anything and everything in this business going forward is tied to one major factor and that is how to move more people, sell more things to them and do it by burning less fuel. You can't do that with the current RJ technology in the long run, even the E jets and the CRJ 700/900 let alone the CRJ 200.

The flying is going back to mainline in the long run not because of scope or what a regional or group of pilots want...it's going back because of burn. If you take a A320NEO or 737 MAX and pack it high density (ergo the extra rows being put in the UAL Busses), sell all those pax all the goodies and fees and fly that jet at 15% less burn what you got in a one hell of a money making machine. If the current C Series or newer E Jets could match it, trust me the majors would be ordering them.

See any orders for that class of jets by the majors? Nope.

The regionals are pinning their future on scope relief and if that doesn't happen then 76 seat and lower markets. Thing is they need new technology and lo and behold GE and Bombardier are working on the Q400X and the CF34NG engine. If the Q400X proves reliable it will be as much a game changer for the regionals as the 787 will prove to be for the majors. If they can make it fly well, it's an incredibly efficient airplane. I'd also suspect feasibility studies of re-engining existing CRJ 700/900 and E-jets with the CF34NG is underway.

There is no work group out there who will be giving up major scope to the regionals IMHO. Outsourcing has become deeply disliked by not only pilots but about every middle to lower tier worker at any major airline so it's not just the pilots who are interested in keeping their careers....it's just about everybody. That's a tough sell.

I agree the regionals have a future but it's going to look a lot like it used to. Lost of props buzzing about and quite a few jets doing routes a 737 or Bus can't turn a buck on. But it will be a far cry from the size it is now and the regionals will slowly return to their status as support and augmentation flying rather than a main supply of available seats...and it's not because what some ornery pilots want in scope....it's because those airplanes just cannot generate enough revenue to counter act the price of gas as the global economy turns in the later part of this decade.