It all comes back to the money, folks. 20 year olds will underbid your mainline salary and get the flying. PERIOD. The only way it will end is if it becomes more of a liability (for qualitative reasons) to outsource than to go in house. But, I doubt that will happen, look at AA and Eagle.

I don't think there are many people looking for regional jobs for the sake of regional jobs. Some of us are AA, UA, CHQ, TSA, etc, but we are all looking primarily after #1 and have decided to try to put bread on the table by flying for a living. This industry has historically been a tough one to enter. You have to pay your dues for a long time before moving ahead. How much you pay depends upon the demand for pilots at the time. In the current environment, if you want a job at a major, you have to go to a regional to get there. Its really the only viable way to build quality time efficiently. I mean, last time I checked it was pretty darn expensive to rent a jet from your local FBO to build time.

Most regional guys would say "buh bye" to their regionals in a split second if they were offered a job at a mainline. So, I doubt you'll ever find a regional guy who knocks the desire to have mainline companies do THEIR OWN flying, because that means more jobs at the mainline, more demand for pilots at that mainline, and in turn less dues to pay to get there. I haven't seen a lot of loyalty out there on behalf of pilots as regards their companies (except perhaps WN), most will jump ship in the bat of an eye in search for a better QOL. This is especially true regarding the jump from regional to mainline.

The problem is with all the elements that make business business. It is human nature to slap labels on other people or groups and then to chase "the people in the black hats", but it really isn't that way in reality. We all chose to try to fly for a living, we all want good QOL, we all (more or less) look after #1 before looking after the other guy (hence competition), and thats just the way it is. Because of this, it makes this industry seem "dog eat dog", egos fly, etc. There will probably always be more applicants than jobs available. Aviation has that sex appeal and people run after it. No matter how good you are there will always be someone wanting your job with a similar or better resume than you. Managements use this to twist our arm and coupled with the individual desires to succeed and find a good QOL, pilots are willing to take the jobs that are offered at the time. I mean, Mesa and GoJet are even staffed.

My point in a few words is that we are all after the same goal, all do the same job, all look the same (more or less). Add the sex appeal to be a pilot and the resulting flood of applicants, then add to that management's money making maneuvers (creation of low paying outsourced regional jobs) and you get a perfect recipe for where we are today, or should I say, where we were before oil began its viking departure. Now that oil is up, many of us are being thrown on the streets.

The sad part about is that there are so many players in the game that a UA or CAL, etc mainline pilot who has really already "paid his dues" is cast out on the street, whereas the new RJ guy with a year seniority is safe (for now anyway). If mainlines did their own flying, the increased size of the seniority lists would make things a bit more fair.