^^^ What he said.

The majors obviously propped up the regional system when they could have just brought it all in house post-covid to ease their pilot shortage problem.

They invested in preserving the system and will expect to get a return on that investment.

Even if they don't employ much whipsaw, inflation will take a toll over the years. History has shown that regional FO's will work for intern wages and a shot at the bigs, and regional CA's will work for low/middle white-collar wages (they still get more time off than cube workers).

But it's not all about keeping pilot pay low, a lot of it has to do with other regional employees, all of whom are easier to replace than pilots. Legacies don't want all of those folks in-house, ensconced in union fortresses. Also the legacies do like they idea of a pilot "internship", they'd rather see how you operate in the real world for at least a couple years before putting you in a widebody. You get more sets and reps at the regionals, and also the opportunity to screw up on overnights, etc.