ok, this may sound really messed up, but try this on for size....

everyone is talking about the new VLJ's coming the market and how air travel will be more in the hands of private pilots and the fractional owners, or charter, whichever a customer prefers... so, in a purely economic approach, how bout the industry go to hell for a little while..

before i get lynched on this, lemme explain... the industry as of late is in a downward spiral, starting at the top with management.. everyone agrees there are some really plush jobs and some really ****ty ones at the same time, but very little in the way of common ground... regionals are packed with pilots and low pay, and the majors are suffering at the hands of rising costs.. how about this new approach... consolidate the airlines into three or four huge airlines (the only exception being the so called "airlines" like cape air and nantucket that only fly a max of 60 mile legs, but do have scheduled service).. do this when a good percentage of the industry nears age 60, such as now, and it will be easier to do

how? start by bringing airlines (and their money) into business with the successful majors like continental... not saying for mesa to be bought by CAL, but for them to mutually merge without an exchange of money at all, leaving it all in one account... have others follow suit, like comair, airlink, etc.... essentially, you are keeping the same airlines (but now under one name) and the same amount of pilots, because very few aircraft will be lost in the process... fly mostly the domestic stuff by regional jets or 737s (coast to coast in 757's) and leave the heavy metal to the internationals.. save some money in the process again...

how this is beneficial:
by not having as many flights from airports, consumers will look to charter, but at a high price.. when they NEED to go somewhere and charter is the only option, they will spend upwards of 2,000 an hour for the only plane to get them from point a to point b... two or three years of this will drive consumers crazy and they will have to go back to the airlines, increasing revenues for the airlines, bringing back the prestige of being an airline pilot, and then maybe, finally some good pay... i dont know about you, but comparing $2K an hour vs. $500 round trip is a no brainer...


im going to hell for this post, but lets hear some feedback on the best thing for the industry