What if there was no scope and all flying (including widebody) was farmed out to regional/subcontractor airlines? I'm playing devil's advocate here, mostly. Would this eliminate the carrot that is dangled in order to keep regional pay low? You can't make all the pilots work for $20/hr if there isn't a light at the end of the tunnel. Honestly, I don't think it would be good for the industry, but I do think a lot of regional pilots put up with the problems because they think their big break is just around the corner. If you can't improve working conditions, why not accelerate the race to the bottom? Eventually, there really will be a pilot shortage. I know, it wouldn't work like that, and would probably be an excuse to introduce some truly career killing changes in the industry. Just thinking out loud.