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Old 09-27-2014 | 07:47 PM
  #7591  
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deltajuliet
Living the Dream
 
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Originally Posted by CaptainNameless
I think the "capture market share" idea is interesting. But really, where are the grounded flights going to be? The regionals, because those are the pilots who will be leaving by the hundreds soon. Solutions? Do those flights on mainline equipment, or find a way to keep the regionals staffed to do it. Or a workable combination of both. Or buy a supply of pilots, do away with scope problems, and end the FFD system on your terms, not terms dictated by the regional vendor's soon to be very serious pilot staffing issues.

I have no idea what the real solution will look like. Seems like every regional is still a place to leave as soon as possible, with some fairly limited retention/flow programs at DAL and AA. All the majors seem to be content to play the regional pilot steal/swap game. So it's difficult to see why would one player move to change that game in some way. Streamlined training? Reduced downtime of pilot supply?
The newest rumors have American pushing for scope increases at the regionals. If they were successful in bumping it up into the high 80's, virtually any route could be served by aircraft like that with just a little extra frequency. They'd knock out two birds with one stone; do the flights on mainline equipment and keep the regionals staffed. Let's hope the mainline guys hold their ground on scope.