Good point. Especially considering I want National to be more of a lobbying/PR effort (like the ATA), and not have any great role in individual airline contracts.

I'm thinking more in terms of the character and vision of the guy, and also in terms of it being good for DALPA to see a semi-orderly change of power.

I also think that we need to come to some resolution in terms of the balance of power between the Regionals and the Legacies. I hear blurbs about some of his efforts with the DCI carriers, and I think he may have the clout to offer something there. I also suspect that there will be an opportunity in the future to combine mainline and DCI flying, a) because Age 65 only delayed the inevitable retirements, b) duty/flight time regs AND certification/qualification regs will make it costly and difficult for the regional model to work, c) the economics of the small RJ's are exposed as horrible, and d) airlines are getting bigger, making it easier and easier for everyone to maintain frequency while fielding larger and more economical aircraft.

I think LM is often taken for a fool on scope issues, and people attribute to thim statements about the RJ's taking themselves out of existence. But maybe it's not so stupid. And we certainly have not seen an increase in RJ's under his tenure, contractual or actual.

I think that, at some point, there could be (finally) a shortage of qualified pilots, and there may be bargains to be reached between the respective managements and pilot groups. Someone with a little vision might help in that regard.