Originally Posted by
billyho
Well I think they might have hit a wall when they started introducing 175's and the 900's. What part of either of those planes screams regional? Those planes fly many of the mainline routes.
While I agree that the regionals are cheap labor it has become increasingly a pool of pilots that has dried up. The regionals are about to hit a big snag in the next 5-9 years. Most of us will be at a mainline carrier by then but grab your popcorn it going to be fun to watch.
You are correct, however the only thing that will move those aircraft from regional to mainline is economics. As pilots we have no large scale affect on this industry. The main thing I disagree with is saying that the pool of pilots will dry up. These executives are smart, successful people. They have contingency plans and I'm sure they'll find a work force somehow. In fact you can already see these college to airline scholarship deals at Envoy.