I view the 2-party presidential elections as a choice between Al Capone or John Gotti. Congressional elections run the gamut from Gotti to Carrot Top.

RB211, You are still missing my point.

I don't think this model can survive just because you say that a person who loves his job as much as a pilot doesn't need to be paid well. You are essentially arguing that being an airline pilot should not be considered as more than a hobby and pilots are lucky to make any money at all.

Compensation doesn't correlate to job satisfaction, it correlates to supply vs demand. The airlines have used seniority to get around supply and demand to artificially lower pay at the regionals which is why pay is so different from one end of the spectrum to the other.

I don't think anyone approaches professional flying with that attitude after working for more than a year at least. It's about the carrot. They expect that someday they will rise above it and it will be worthwhile. Airlines and bean counters have exploited this phenomenon through the seniority system without which it wouldn't be possible to the extent that pilots become "trapped" in the rat race feeling they can't quit and come back later and they can't easily jump between jobs looking for the better pay.

The exploits have simply gone too far and now it must be reeled back in for it to continue to work. Reeling in means pushing the larger regional jets back to the majors who often already own (lease) them and reducing the labor demand on the regionals.

The only other option would be to completely reconfigure the business model by eliminating seniority as I described. There is no other way for Regionals to sustain their present level and continue to operate as they do.

This is a good thing.

I just finished watching a video of how easy it is to fly the F-35. It takes off by itself, it lands(vertically) nearly by itself, and is operated by a smart phone type interface. The fact is, the skills needed to fly jets are getting simpler. This where global aviation is heading.

So?
……...

Flying any of the 4th generation and above aircraft is fairly easy.
You solo a F/A-18 after 3 flights; operating it as a weapons system is where the skill (and training) comes in.

Post that link though if you would -- I'd like to see it.

I see your point about the regional model not surviving. This is why I suggest we all will still be on a B pay scale, flying RJ's at a mainline. The only difference is that the regionals will be part of the mainline.
The seniority system is never going away, and mainline pilots will continue to screw over the new guy to give themselves more money every time a new contract comes out. I would not be surprised if mainline contracts had pay scales for CRJ's and ERJ's. Management will always create a "Us vs Them" mentality to split pilot groups. No pilot group gives a rats ass about another pilot group. That is just the ugly truth.

How much 121 experience do you have?

Why do you ask?

I'll try to find it again. It was in the middle of an Australian program called "Four Corners" I think--it was about what a white elephant the F-35 was, esp. compared to the Su-35.

3rd Gen fighters were where they discovered "information overload" and realized the pilot could become overwhelmed.

4th Gen fighters used fly by wire systems to make flying the plane relatively easy by design so the pilot could focus more on the mission and other life threatening distractions. The F35 goes even further by automating even more and may be the last generation where pilots are used at all.

Airlines are becoming that way. Just read an article in AW about how "low workload and boredom may have been a contributory factor" in an incident involving loss of control of a troop transport A330.

It seems to me the focus in training has moved from skill based experienced to procedures training...and from "Don't depend on the automation" to "trust the automation."