Originally Posted by
FlyJSH
Will someone please tell me why it is good for pilots to have RJs (flown by Regional Pilots making much less than their mainline counterparts) flying routes that compete with the DC-9 and its progeny, baby Boeings, and short 'Buses?
In the long run this is NOT a good thing. Hopefully, this trend will reverse itself if the oil price keeps going up because RJs will no longer be economically viable. It will be cheaper for the majors to fly 100 to 110 seat jets by newhire FOs and newly upgraded CAs at mainline pay. As an example, newhire FO at NWA, UAL starts out at approx $30.00/hr. The new CA payrate on these new equipments will probably be on par with MD88, or DC9 payrate so it won't be that much more than the payrate currently being paid for CRJ9 or E175 crew at regionals.