Originally Posted by
SonicFlyer
Swelling pilot pay could force US regionals to contract, impacting communities: CEOs
Higher pilot pay rates at regional airlines could become a problem as carriers seek to balance a pilot shortage with maintaining flights to smaller US communities.
SOURCE:
https://www.flightglobal.com/strateg...150258.article
Notice, how they argue that the problem is pilot pay, not poor planning of staffing by any of the (legacy or regional) airlines.... Nor is it the fastest hiring in a generation by the legacies.
Also notice the angle that "small communities will suffer."
What WILL happen FIRST is a reduction in the number of regional flights at medium sized cities by replacing hourly regionals with fewer larger planes. This is a win for decreasing congestion (of both airspace and at hub airports).
Fewer larger planes also INCREASES fuel EFFICIENCY and also LOWERS per-passenger (CASM) costs (especially at the current fuel $$$ and regional pilot $$$).