Originally Posted by
Margaritaville
The only thing that makes regional jets make sense is the lower wages. Other than that, there's no difference between one less 717 or 220 to a regional city.
I'm gonna disagree with you slightly.
RJs allow mainline carriers to provide the same level of frequency in smaller markets that they do in larger ones, probably more of an issue for Business travelers than leisure, but there's also a leisure crowd that appreciates having 1 hour layovers in hubs vs 3.
That, and that allows for a certain level of rebooking and flexibility when IROPs and mx issues hit. In certain parts of the areas of the country PSA serves, the moment there's a delay or weather issue there's 2-3 other hubs in play that passengers can be re-routed through. I was in one of our larger outstations a while back when a LCC had to do a return to field for a mx issue. The outcome for passengers? A no questions asked refund and "Have a nice day," because the next flight wasn't for two days and was already full with whatever bargain basement fares they were advertising.
Whatever value Vasu and his minions apply to that is up to them, but there's a certain level of flexibility and resiliency that RJs contribute to that isn't solely seen in the bottom line.
Now that the regionals have to offer big bonuses and higher pay to get butts in the seats, that gap keeps decreasing and it makes sense to mainlines to protect their brand by bringing that flying in house. It's really that simple. Look for this trend to continue. Soon, SkyWest and Republic will be the only RJ operators (E175), and they will do the scraps mainlines cant do with 717s/220s/737s/319/320s. CRJs and E145s will be gone. There isn't anyone left to fly them.
And people keep missing the point I'm trying to bring up: the missing part of the compensation for 76 seat aircraft is accruing seniority on a seniority list that they want to be on for the next 20-30+ years. The first carrier that figures that out and solves that problem can have as many pilots for those airplanes at current rates as they want, until the other 2-3 carriers with significant outsourced lift join in and the competition for pilots via compensation starts all over again.
As I type this, money really isn't the issue, or the retention bonus AAG offered the regionals would've had a much higher uptake. It's all about the longer term benefits that accruing seniority on a mainline list ultimately provide, and pilots are keen not to miss out on.