Originally Posted by EDPM
I think a more pertinent question would be "what percentage of regional airlines will stay in business long enough for you to reach retirement age?"
I used to fly for regional that's now defunct. I remember a few guys saying "I'd consider staying here for the rest of my career if we get the 70 seaters." My response was "do you honestly believe this company will exist when you're 60 years old?"
Most regional airlines exist through a contractual relationship with a major airline. Lose that contract and you could find yourself in a world of hurt. Independence is the perfect example of what happens when you have a fleet of aircraft and no one paying the bills. Yes, I realize ACA chose to sever their relationship with UAL but even if they had resigned, the company would have shrunk considerably. And if UAL had not made it through their restructuring, ACA would more than likely have met the same fate.
EDPM
Yeah, what he said. You are MUCH better off at a company that sells tickets; that way you won't be shut down overnight by contract changes. You could still go wrong, but at least you'll see it coming years in advance.
And remember, it's like the stock market...past performance is no guarantee of future returns.
Skywest might be an exception; they used to sell tickets and have stated they would go back to that if DAL shut down. Horizon is wholly owned and is probably pretty safe too. Maybe there's others on the east coast.