Let's all understand this: the flows were not set up to ensure that AA has enough pilots to fill mainline cockpits nor were they offered as a reward to Parker's wholly-owned regional pilots. Get that!!
If Parker had decided that he didn't want to pluck pilots from his own regionals he would *STILL* have more than enough qualified applicants to fill his mainline seats coming from XJT, SKYW, RAH, Endeavor, Mesa, Horizon, Compass, TSA, GoJet, Wisconsin, Commutair, Lakes, Silver, Spirit, JetBlue, Virgin Am., Frontier, Allegiant, Sun Country, Miami Air, as well as a plethora of 135, cargo, and corporate outfits.
The flow is not some benevolent offering to reward his wholly-owned regional pilots for their patience and loyalty. No, the flows were designed to take those $100+/hour, 15 year RJ and Dash captains, move them over to mainline (where they'll only make $65/hour) and replace them with 3 year RJ and Dash captains who only make $70/hour. And when Parker has maximized his cost savings with lower-longevity RJ captains and F.O.s the flows will slow to a trickle, as is evident by the constantly decreasing flow schedule in the Envoy and PDT contracts as well as AAG's refusal to increase the 4/month "flow" at PSA.
It's not about mainline staffing or "throwing a bone" to the regional guys. It's all about the M.O.N.E.Y.!