I look at it this way, the regionals are going to lose half their pilot group in the next two years. If mainline intends to keep those routes, they will have to cover it with mainline flying. That will suck up the other half of regional pilots. So the end result is probably the end of the regionals in the next five years. So better to take what you can get before the ship sinks. Will it make a difference, no, but any bonus would be nice.

The only way to get people to stay, is for Delta to become far and away the highest paid airline. That’s not going to happen, and right now Delta has become a young pilot airline. Also, Delta has recaptured more regional flying than the other majors, so there is an unseen additional seniority bonus at AA/United, when they recapture their regional flying.