Originally Posted by
WhiskeyKilo
I think it's a canned answer. Delta has always wanted to move away from 50 seat flying and I can understand why. 9E is the only one pulling 50 seaters out of the desert while other regionals are starting to put theirs away.
Speculation: I think that 50 seat flying will move to 9E exclusively before it goes away entirely. That will probably take about 5-8 years to accomplish completely. As for 70 seat flying I think that's a toss up. 9E being absorbed by Delta is, frankly, a fantasy. I could see 9E moving into the 100 seat market but I don't see them going away and there is a demand at spoke airports for small regional jets. IMHO 70 seat flying is going to be around for many years to come and so is Endeavor.
How do you see 9E moving into the 100 seat market? Certainly it won't be because of the scope clauses in Delta's PWA, correct? This "vision" is the real fantasy. 9E will never fly anything bigger than their current 70ish seaters in this current environment. Even if (when) things go south, there are too many former regional guys getting hired at Delta for ALPA to try and sneak more scope concessions past us.
Aside from this fantastical speculation, your last statement is very true IMHO.