I don't know the history of all the regionals, but in the case of the original ExpressJet, it was Continental Express before being spun off through an IPO. Pilots accepted low pay, because they flew turboprops AND they had a Continental seniority number. "The internship mentality". These pilots had about 2000 hrs of flight time when hired and MANY HAD TO PAY FOR TRAINING in the '90s.

Pilots at CAL Express would flow over to CAL and were treated exactly the same in terms of flight benefits and many other operational matters. This was the vaunted "pathway" that the RAA is bandying about now. Then 9/11 occurred. CAL pilots flowed back to CAL Express as part of the flow agreement, but after they went back to CAL, CAL mgmt. rescinded the flow-up

CAL spun off CAL express and created ExpressJet--and it's been downhill ever since. IF the majors do bring regional flying in house, what is to prevent the same thing from happening again?