I don't think so. There is no point in buying what can be taken for free. Pilots are the only real commodity and they work for free wherever the breeze happens to be blowing. There's no point in taking the options on the airplanes if you already have options on airplanes.

The majors don't want 70 seat airplanes, the regionals won't be able to staff them. So where does that really leave us?

Republic's fate is sealed, like all regionals. They simply will be one of the first to fold (or severely downsize to the lifers). It's a mathematical certainty under todays variables. There is no political will to make any serious changes to the current rule set.