I've been very critical of those that simply depend on flow to get them to a major.

That said, if you need a regional to get PIC to make your apps competitive, by the time you are competitive, you're pretty close to flowing. If AA is your preferred destination, at the point you're close to flowing, you probably aren't trying to get hired by Delta, United, FedEx, UPS, Southwest and you sure as hell are not trying to get hired by Agilent, Frontier, Sun Country, etc.

There are a LOT of people I've flown with that fit that description.

But to the point of the thread, there are quite few I've flown with that would never get hired at a legacy without the flow (no degree being the biggest thing)... I think most of those would still land at a major though if it weren't for flow given the future retirement situation.