Originally Posted by
Imapilot2
I can tell you where I stand. If anyone DALPA even for one second lets the question come across their lips to ask us to let more seats in the CRJ or ERJ for the regionals...I will shove a SH1t sandwhich in there so fast it will make their head spin.
Any jet bigger than the CRJ 900 or the EMB 175 is main line period.
The old line in the sand was... if it's a jet, it's mainline. The line should have been held there, period. Now the cat is out of the bag, and the arguement centers around seating capacity, on jets. The large turboprops seem to be ignored.
My opinion in that anything over 50 seats should be a mainline aircraft, jet or turboprop. Anything going over 500 mile legs should be a mainline aircraft.... I'm seeing Chicago to Nassau in "regional" routes for example.
As long as the idea of "scope exceptions" is a viable alternative for managements, they will never put these things were they belong. They will continue to reduce mainline fleet size across the board to be replaced by these large "regional" aircraft. Expect more of the Midwest business plan... just outright outsourcing the flying.
Part of the problem is all the seperate unions, each trying to protect just their pilot group. Many have provisions to protect their own flying, but I have yet to see anything that contractually prohibts a company from using their pilots to fly somebody elses routes. There is an "us" vs "them" issue going on as well... with the them being both management, and other pilot groups, especially when dealing with mainline/regional pilot group issues.
An example, RAH has in ther contract rates for the larger E series jets. Now, why on earth their union would ever agree to negotiate a pay rate, for a plane they didn't have at the time, and a plane that everybody agrees should be a mainline plane, is just mind boggling. The reality should be plain to anybody that if regionals keep getting larger and larger planes, eventually there will be no good mainline jobs left to go to, or to have career advancement. So, when they negotiate these types of things, they are shooting current and future pilots in the foot.
It's pretty much at that point now. If your at a regional, the chances of going to a mainline job are fairly slim compared to the old career progression path. So, for many, regionals will be their career... yet they keep allowing contract for larger planes at regional work rules and pay. It's a very short sighted ill thought out process... and we're all losing as a result.