I am not young, but I will not be blazing a trail to any regional. There was a time when I would do this, but the more I read the more I see it is a cutthroat industry that dangles hopes of a better future out like a carrot to pilots while they swear off a normal life and fair compensation just to get access to a struggle.

Since I am single and do not provide for dependents I still hold out a remote hope of a big upturn in newhire pay at regionals. But the apparent pilot shortage is a shortage of those willing to work for subpar wages, as there are lots of nonworking pilots around, and it will be a chilly day in Somalia before regionals will pay higher wages than they can get away with paying.

There is an element in the human being that requires him or her to have a dream. Regionals have truly tapped into this phenomenon in modern society. Here we have a dream losing traction as the truth settles in to the dreamers. The flow of persons willing to work for a dream is at a serious low.