If there is any advice I can forward; in aviation expect the unexpected. Come up with the most implausable scenarios in your mind and you still won't even come close. If you had asked Midwest and Frontier pilots a few years ago if they'd be owned by RAH, they would have laughed.
The regional outlook for the next few years is tricky. The entire industry is so heavily affected by things totally out of their control. Fuel prices, terrorism, pandemics (think SARS), weather, economy, inflation, ect.. Any one of these will send the industry upside down.
If fuel prices continue to climb, expect 50 seaters to be unloaded. I'm guessing the majors would rather pay out penalties then hemorage money on economically poor aircraft. In today's market, it's all about efficiency.