Ultimately that is what would need to happen for a major to say screw it and fly 70+ seats themselves in house. This would be a desirable outcome, eliminating this rung on the career ladder you have found yourself at. Hang in there, this shortage is just in the very beginning stages. There are a few pilots in the training pipeline that will likely figure out a way to get themselves hired in 2014. Then, Silver and GLA will most likely have to fail thereby forcing those pilots to come to work for larger regionals such as yours. But after that, come 2015, there is literally nothing in the training pipeline that will satisfy the true shortage which doesn't even peak until 2020, a mere 6 years away. In 2020, 1/3 of all airline pilots will retire.

There is not a signing bonus in the world that will help any of these airlines come 2015, there simply is nobody to give this bonus too. The real need is in retention bonuses, not signing bonuses. Signing bonuses do nothing but shuffle pilots temporarily from airline to airline.