This from a DALPA "Jumpseat Alert" today:

"Pilots commuting on Shuttle America and Go Jet Airlines should have a backup plan."

I awoke to a similar message on Deltanet. I can't keep track of what regional flies for who, but cancellations, delays and general operational unreliability seem to be building industry-wide.

Googling delays and cancellations at those carriers does not provide the current specifics that have caused the company and union alert. But it does turn up some coverage of reliability problems at all the regional service providers. The numbers are dismal compared to their mainline associates. Even the industry darling Skywest is pretty shaky with on-time performance and cancellation rates relative to Delta mainline and others they serve. Perhaps I'm speculating a bit too much, but I'm thinking that pilot staffing issues are coming into play a bit more each day.

I say again (as I did with the 50 seat RJ situation during C2012), scope as it pertains regional feed could be self-resolving. 50 seat jets no longer viable? Major maintenance due on an unfavorable lease? Pilots not showing up to fly Delta-branded affiliates? Other bad business decision related to regional feed? Tough luck! You have the tools top fix the problem! And it does not involve dipping into your employees' pockets.

Higher paid Delta pilots operating reliable flights on the mainline could prove to be a good investment if current RJ trends continue. We should not be allocating a major dosage of negotiating capitol to create a win-win situation. No more big RJs operated outside of the mainline!