With the recent announcement that American is severing ties with ExpressJet and Trans State, I began to ponder the future of regionals within mainline networks.

What are, in your opinions, the benefits and disadvantages to AA Group operating with exclusively wholly owned regionals? What are some arguments for and against the idea?

On one hand, it makes a greater financial risk for AAG to use only in-house regional carriers, as it increases the likelyhood of an economic downturn directly affecting AAG. However, if third parties aren't able to meet the requirements of their CPA, this could offset the negative effects of delayed, cancelled, and otherwise unfulfillable flights.

I know it's not likely that we'll see this happen, but I thought this might be an interesting thought experiment.