Originally Posted by VegasChris

This exactly! The regional captain model is failing and they thought a cheap buyout would fix it or recession with a pause in hiring into the majors would bail them out. They gambled wrong. They could buy themselves out of it, but at the end of the day the management wants the money for themselves and the stockholders.

Every FO looking to upgrade sees it pretty simple. Do I upgrade and make roughly 150k per year with a horrible schedule, no QOL, and a pitiful 401k match

Do I leave for a ULCC make the same as I am making now for a year, fly a bigger plane, get a better schedule just by nature of the flying and a 15% DC and then make 150k next year?

This is an easy decision.

The regionals have money in the bank (or money backed by the majors) and renegotiated their contracts to account for pilot wages. They could make the job of regional captain pay enough to offset the negatives and get people to stay. They are slow to do this or just will not.

The result is that FO with time will leave and the company will downsize and the captains that are at the regional for life will keep the ship afloat while the quality of flying and schedules continues to decrease.