Longtime analyst Michael Boyd sees a grim future for the sector. "The [phrase] regional airline is a misnomer. They aren't regional and they aren't airlines," he tells ATW. "These are leasing companies, that's all, and it's a shrinking business." Furthermore, he believes many regionals still are overstocked with 50-seat RJs at a time when the fleet forecast shows there is no new demand for 50-seaters. "Anything with a CRJ or ERJ in front of it is going to have a hard time selling," he says.

The truth is spoken. When I started, regionals were regionals, feeding mainline. I just read the skyw 35 year mag praising themselves, personally it made me sick, its just a shady business model all-around.

Sounds like a great time to invest your 70k. You will get on just long enough to fly for a few years in poverty then get furloughed as the regionals shrink.