Originally Posted by
block30
I get what you are saying buuuut....
I thought one of the biggest beefs that the Colgan crash families had was that they were under the impression they bought tickets on Continental. So if the public is aware of what is really going on--aware of the whipsaw at the regional level, they can put pressure on management. Today's consumer has such an abundance of information and so readily available. We really do vote with our wallets. Quality costs money, and I think the flying public ought to press for more uniformity between mainline and regional flying. When customers speak, management listens.
This is more having to deal with a post I made in another thread about tool pilots who tell passengers they fly for their mainline partner or wear lanyards with the Legacy carriers name. They will say "Its because nobody has heard of XXXX regional airline," I say its because you are posing to be something youre not. Want passengers to realize the difference between regional and mainline pilots/aircraft/wages? Stop acting like they are one in the same. Management spends a lot of money to make the experience between traveling on a regional to a mainline carrier to be seamless, its to fool the passengers. Pilots who who pose as their mainline carriers only exacerbate the issue.
And I dont think any passengers really care about the trouble of the regional pilot. They will say "oh, thats unfair." But in the end they want cheap fares. Air travel is super safe on any aircraft so it is not like they are "gambling" with their life if they fly a regional vs a mainline carrier. Many times they dont even have a chance and will have to fly the regional to certain markets. Do you really think anyone would choose to drive instead of flying a regional airline? No way.
This isnt the fight for the public to take up. It is a fight for the regional pilots to wage themselves. Not ALPA, not mainline, not passengers. As long as pilots are voting "YES!" to concessions to fly more aircraft, nothing can be helped. Eagle and XJT sacked up and said "NO!" and they were rewarded with the threat of closure and losing aircraft. Everyone has to say "NO!"