I think it's safe to say most regionals will have much higher minimums when they start hiring again. 2006-7 was a statistical anomaly. Anybody who thinks they belong in a jet at less than 700 hours is kidding themselves and I speak from experience.

Another issue is a number of contracts coming up. Regionals aren't the stepping stones they once were and those guys that waited 7 years to upgrade, are planning on staying put or remember how tough it was to make it on first year pay are going to demand better. Mesa just made it harder for the rest of us (again) but with all the qualified pilots on the street it's a lot harder to keep the bar low and attract people that are going to stick around.