Originally Posted by
Mesabah
It wouldn't surprise me if the regionals bought these airplanes and leased them to the mainline. A lot of majors can't afford the additional debt load like some regionals can.
Bingo. They would not necessarily lease them, but the mainline would pay a "fee" to operate them. Cash flow the payments and keep the debt off the mainline ledger.
That is the great savings of outsourcing. Dividing the pilots is only an added benefit.
How a major chooses to organize their balance sheet is their business, but who flies the jets is the business of the pilots.