As time goes by there will be less and less spots for new hires selected off street as Majors will secure flow through agreement through their regionals to fill both staffing needs at their respective regional and Mainline position. That will make the competition between the regional pilots with no flow through agreement even harder trying to get hired off the street at Mainline (AA, United, Delta). Eventually there will be 100% flow from Envoy to AA where you have to go through Envoy in order to get to AA. If you're a new hire and like to end your career at mainline I suggest you select an airline with flow through agreement. While at a regional with flow through you can always apply to the majors as off the street as you wait for your flow. Then if you get a interview prior to your flow go for it. If you get hired great, if not you still have a job and a flow through. It's a win win either way. Out of the 3 wholly owned Envoy, psa and piedmont there is only 2 of them with flow through to AA, Envoy and piedmont.