The public wants cheap fares. They get what they pay for.
We all go out there and do the job to the best of our ability, but the professional totem pole and associated pay dictate that the regionals act as a stepping stone (at least they used to be).
Prices go down, airplanes get smaller, and more plentiful requiring more pilots to staff them. The supply of ultra experienced pilots wasn't there and hence in come the 400 hour pilots. Furthermore, experience aside, most pilots with 10,000 plus hours are older and have more overhead than a single 22 year old who lives at a crashpad for 150/month. Thus the wages paid just will not work. Again, the airplanes need to be staffed.
This industry needs a huge cash infusion if there is any chance. Ticket prices must go up. And the family wearing wife beaters and fuzzy slippers onto the plane may not be able to go anymore.