Originally Posted by Itsajob

What exactly would United gain in a purchase that is desired or that can’t be had for free? They don’t want 50 seat jets, they want big rj’s. The only reason that the 50 seat flying is at the current level is that scope is maxed out and the MEC has said loud and clear that relief is not for sale. The pilots can be had by simply inviting them to interview. All of the regionals are struggling to hire pilots and the quality of what they are getting is scary. Multiple failures in the sim, 100 hours of IOE, etc. There has never been a guarantee of a job with the majors. There has never been job security once you are there. Just look to Eastern, Pan Am, Braniff, etc. The regionals are stepping stones and a great place to gain high quality experience that simply qualifies you to apply to the majors. There has never been an entitlement to a job after a certain number of years in the trenches. The pay and working conditions while building that experience has always been bad, but it seems now that people aren’t willing to “pay their dues”. They want a defined path with a guaranteed result while having a comfortable quality of life during the whole process. This entitlement mindset is resulting in a serious staffing problem at the regional level. My guess is that after UAL signs a new contract with the pilots we will see a significant order for the max7 or CJ series type jet which will park the bulk of the 50 seat fleet. That will stimulate mainline hiring, but it won’t guarantee seats to employees of specific regional companies. The other option is for the company to buy another fleet type that would allow up to 60-70 more large rj’s under the current contract. If the company bought another fleet to replace the 50 seat flying, and if they gave all of the new large rj’s to ExpressJet, the company would be over staffed. I think that a more likely and cost affective outcome is that they would be divided between the companies that currently fly them. This would free up the recently displaced 50 seat pilots to seek employment at the surviving regionals or seek employment elsewhere. This is just a business and better companies have gone away only to be missed by the former employees and aviation geeks.