I agree with most of what you have been saying. Especially in regards to Regional pilots not being Mainline pilots. Most current Regional pilots forget the fact that the Regionals operate under different rules and realities than mainline operators. We therefore can't expect to use the same tactics and get the same results.

The only thing I disagree with is the paragraph I quoted above. If a Regional fails it may or may not mean more mainline jobs. But what it absolutely will create is a saturation of unemployed, qualified pilots all chasing the same jobs.

So even if it did create more jobs at mainline in theory, the number of vacancies would be canceled out by the excess number of available pilots. Keep in mind there is always the flow of military pilots, LCC pilots, and pilots from large Cargo operators like Atlas and Omni. Not to mention the American pilots overseas with Boeing and Airbus experience.

That group is always hired first. Regional Captains get the left overs, while Regional FOs are hung out to dry. Even with more mainline jobs there are more than enough pilots from that "favored" group to fill seats. The excess of Regional Captains unemployed and looking for a job will round out the remaining slots.

Just saying...a Regional fails today and the market is flooded with pilots. That is guaranteed. More jobs at mainline? Not a guarantee, and either way not a problem from a staffing point of view.