i'm not sure what the article's point was but up until the last couple of paragraphs i think it's a pretty fair assessment that the general flying public have of flying on a regional - rightly or wrongly.
i fly on rj's because i have to. i'd prefer not too but that's me. the rj's are smaller. they are a little noisier (except for when you sit at the back of an md-80
). and to be honest i too have noticed, that on a couple of occasions, the co-pilots have been young. this is not a knock on them but just what i have noticed. most don't realize the training that these guys go through and just see the 22 yr old guy programming the autopilot when boarding the plane. hence the public perception.