A stepping stone? Since when.....not since about September of 2001. That's the shortsightedness that has ruined the entire biz. Don't you see that these "regional jets" are now the size of 737s and DC9s!? And management has got people flying them for a little over $30/hour. Now the mainline carriers can funnel money to their feeders and get them to cover the larger (and continually larger) domestic markets for a FRACTION of the cost(labor wise), utilizing the CR9s and E190s. Now the "regional jet" that you fly at your "regional airline" is keeping you around longer and management is laughing about it. You know why? Because quick fix idiots like this guy just wanted to get out in a hurry. And he fell for it. We should never have allowed anything larger than 70 seats @ the "regional" level. It only serves a subversive end.

So there goes the 'stepping stone' argument. PFTers and others like you have ruined the ENTIRE industry. We used to think that you just made the regionals suck, but mainlines all over the country have seen what you'll do when they begin to lube up. Congratulations: you're the horse that management's riding in the race to the bottom, and you're winning.

Freaking hack.