Funny, AirWillie, but I think you are on to something. It's not that we should have low expectations, but that we should have realistic expectations.

When I was a T-34 flight instructor, one of my first students was a Naval Academy graduate who was at the top of his class and literally a rocket scientist. During the Fam 0 where I show him a preflight and brief him on the flight training program, I asked him his plans. His response surprised me, "I'm going to fly jets, then I'm going to Test Pilot School, then I'm going into the Astronaut program". He said it like some reservations clerk had already booked his itinerary and he had the tickets in his pocket. As it turned out, his superior brain power didn't translate as easily into good old eye-hand coordination and flight sense. He got his wings, but he didn't fly jets.

For us, the lesson is to have a full understanding of both the path Corporate America is headed, the globalization of the economy and the full impact of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 (which is still affecting all of us).

In short, the legacies are shrinking. Airlines are consolidating to the point where, instead of growing, they are forming alliances to reduce competition. The proposed AA-BA alliance comes to mind. Meanwhile, the former regionals are growing into the vacuum created by the retreating legacies. The net result will be more regional pilots competing for fewer mainline jobs. Many will see their dream of becoming a major airline pilot come to fruition, but most will not.

It's good to have dreams and ambition, but we need to temper those dreams and ambition with a clear and realistic view of the situation. Many of those who are either bitter about being "stuck in the right seat at a regional" or, worse, bitter Captains are people who, IMHO, never had a realistic appraisal of their options and opportunities. Even if they did get to a mainline, they'd probably be bitter about not moving up faster. The problem is within them, not what is happening outside of them. FWIW.