Bedford knows what he is doing.
I started with CHQ in 2002, then went to republic later on and have since left the Pax Airline biz. In 2002 you could see that Bedford figured out he could make a whole lot more money making his little airline a big one than to go to a major and work in their managment. He is hedging his bets every time he throws money a struggling airline. In every case he will win. With airways it was gate space, with Midwest it was infastructure, with Frontier it is airplanes. If the airline pulls out of it's economic troubles, Bedford comes of as the guy who was there to help. So you owe him routes. If your airline goes under he has got first dibs on your equipment. Just think, If every company Bedford has his teeth in failed, one by one, how big would republic be? The market currently sucks but my money is on Republic being a big fish in the next 5 years. Yes, it will bring down salaries as a whole. However, Bedford nor the flying public care. Most of my FO's didn't care either, be it parents or a reitirement from the Mil or previous job or well to do spouse, made working for next to nothing posible. My question to other pilots at large RJ flying regionals and myself was, if I am now flying a Mainline aircraft on Mainline routes, Will there be a Mainline airline to go to once "I have done my time?"
In the end the flying public will be happy so long as they can continue to by cheap tickets, and subsidized pilots will continue to work for little or no money so long as they can point to a big shiny new aircraft and say "that's what I fly."
And Bedford knows that.