Originally Posted by DAL 88 Driver

But they are not held to Delta standards. They have not been through the evaluation process of a Delta interview (some of them don't even qualify for a Delta interview), and most of them do not have the level of experience of a real Delta pilot. They have not been trained by Delta. Their procedures are not Delta standard. They are not Delta pilots. That is the "reality" and it is an indisputable fact.

Another reality is that most RJ passengers THINK they are being flown by real Delta pilots. The airplanes have been intentionally painted to mislead the casual observer into believing it's a Delta airplane. The gates and all the material say "Delta." Every effort has been made to deceive the customer into believing they are flying on Delta with the hope that they won't notice the fine print on their ticket. It is the very definition of bait and switch.

I wonder how many of the passengers on the Colgan flight in Buffalo thought they were flying on Continental? What about Comair in Lexington? How many times was that reported as a "Delta" flight at first?

Like I've said before, the vast majority of regional pilots are good pilots and will be competitive for jobs as a Delta pilot. But not all are currently qualified, and not all meet Delta's standards for pilot hiring. They need to be vetted via the interview process... just like all the other outstanding pilots we have currently working for us who came from the regionals.