Originally Posted by forgot to bid

Dash, complex question actually because there are several ways to look at it.

Are we talking about scope, regional jets or fee for departure? What you're asking in essence is why would a former RJ pilot at Delta feel like they have the right to pull up the ladder behind them? Or maybe why is said pilot being so hypocritical?

fwiw, I was hired at Coex when the props still outnumbered the jets but the jet onslaught was coming. In fact, new hires straight to the jet was a sore subject for a lot of line pilots. Even worse, a lot of line pilots were ****ed that new hires weren't paying $10K for training, got per diem while in training and their hotel paid for. But that attitude invokes a different discussion.

The most concise way I can say this is- regional airlines have always sucked. But they were a means to TPIC time and a mainline job. Post RJ, they got an upgrade in equipment but most still sucked.

Not to rehash, but as soon as 9/11 happened the RJs that were being eyed as possible mainline replacement jets became full fledged replacement jets and operations. What was once a means to an end went from a hopefully short visit to a slit your wrist prolonged stay. And for those prone to Stockholm syndrome, a career.

Now if RJs had never been invented, every civil Delta guy you see here would've still gone that route. We'd flown "regional" legs and done so in ATRs, Saabs and Embraers. Pay for departure wouldn't even muster a discussion given we'd had a smaller fleet and we'd burned less fuel than any other option out there.

So it's not accurate to say a RJ guy now turned Delta pilot is being hypocritical about the RJs. Was it fun to fly at 370 in a nice little jet? Absolutely. Looking back, wish it never happened.

We all knew that while RJ growth meant possible upgrade it really meant fewer jobs at mainline anyways so that upgrade was all for naught. I wish I had been relegated to flying an ATR 42-320 out of EWR up and down the Hudson to Albany instead of flying an ERJ-145XR nonstop from EWR to MSP and Nebraska. I wish instead of a fleet of 600+ jets at DCI it was 200 props and that all of the remainder of that flying was at Delta on Delta jets flown by Delta pilots with the Delta PWA and that we'd been hiring since 03 nonstop instead of what has happened.

It's not that a former RJ pilot wants to pull up the ladder but rather that former RJ pilots, who mind you were willing to take the risk and move to a major, are trying to ensure regional pilots can get off that boat and on to this ship.

Because for the first time we have the opportunity to vote and talk to the powers that be about the one thing, the only thing, that matters most- scope.

There's not a thing an RJ pilot can do about mainline scope. It's our responsibility here and so don't look at it as being hypocritical but about more voices being added to the mainline ranks that want this trend reversed.