Originally Posted by
sgrd0q
The trend may be irreversible. Before long we'll be looking at 737s. Eventually all flying will be done by the "regionals". Transoceanic too. Mainline will be reduced to holding companies with no airplanes and no pilots on their staff; instead they will just award contracts to the lowest bidder.
True. The big majors would absolutely love to do this, and they have been exploring the concept. They would then be able to whipsaw widebody and narrow-body contractors in addition to regional contractors.
Scope is the ONLY thing preventing this...eventually some BK airline with a really senior pilot group is going to make a deal to phase out scope as the existing pilots retire (ie no new hires, ever). This airline will then contract out all their flying ($19/hr for 747 FO's), realize massive cost advantages, and force all of their competitors into the same model.
This is why we need to eliminate longevity pay scales and set national pay standards in the near future...