Originally Posted by
point80
This is correct ALPA has argued for this to prevent furloughs of mainline pilots. Also, it would benefit the rj pilot in the long run bc then you can just get hired at a mainline, maybe on a B pay scale.
Yes it would be better for most civilian pilots. Not good for most ex-mil pilots who would now start on RJ's instead of NBs. Even at mainline, that's going to pay less. And ex-mil is a significant constituency at the majors, they just don't see any need to "solve" the regional problem for the most part.
Also the more senior major pilots don't view regionals as a career progression threat, they view them as a cost savings which contributes directly to their own profit sharing.
So the sympathetic population at the majors is maybe the bottom 70%, excluding ex-mil. So less than 50% total.
Originally Posted by
point80
But, UA has shot this down multiple times bc financially it doesnt make sense to them, even at a B scale pilot pay. Also they would then be responsible for the aircraft such as maintenance, insurance, and liability.
It's mainly labor outsourcing and whipsawing. They pay the other costs as a pass-through anyway, plus a profit markup. They need some good whipsaw to pay the middle-man his cut and STILL have it cheaper than in-house.
Originally Posted by
point80
For example, if a rj messes up some how and gets sued by a pax, UA is not legally held accountable.
Actually yes they totally are. They sold the ticket and selected the outsourced provider, so the courts will not give them any sort of liability immunity whatsoever. In the case of small regionals with poor finances, the major partner might be the only really deep pockets to go after anyway. A total hull loss/total fatality accident is going to run $1-2B or more.
The advantage regionals provide vis-a-vis liability is while mainline doesn't normally want pax to even realize they're flying on somebody else's plane, in the event of an accident the major partner will suddenly and publicly start referring to the offending regional by name, to deflect damage to THEIR brand. They'll typically get rid of the regional in question (or at least merge, rename, etc). But they're still going to have to write the checks to settle the lawsuits, just as quietly as possible. Another occupational hazard to being a regional lifer at a small regional is that one accident could get your employer liquidated with little notice (FFD contracts have an escape clause for safety issues, and a big accident would trigger that if the major so desired). A jumbo regional could probably get away with one accident. Not sure about two in a close time frame.