It is a strange truth to be sure.

Outsourcing just adds cost to airline operations. Delta management knows (maybe they conveniently forgot) that the "service provided by" sticker adds 7% to 9% to the total cost of the operation. Somebody is paying the redundant managers, maintenance and costs of the additional certificate. Now that the game of pilot labor arbitrage is over outsourcing is cost +, plus, for no benefit whatsoever. Unit costs at the regionals are through the roof.

Management everywhere is going to keep foot-dragging, reducing the real cost of mainline pilots through inflation, until FORCED by a labor disruption to take action to save the business. We have as labor friendly an administration as we are ever going to have. We need to watch what happens with these railroad unions VERY carefully. Biden's telling them they DO NOT want to take this to Congress. At the same time the last thing the Biden administration needs is a railway strike right now. I do not know how it ends up. I do think we are likely to follow that pattern.

The Railway Labor Act is unjust.