Republic has 6500 employees. American has 102,000. The cost of 1000 captains is not the same as AA’s total cost will all employee group..

Doesn't mean it's profitable or even sustainable. Might be propping it up to prevent an uncontrolled collapse of part of their network, while they figure out the long-term plan.

It’s clear the 4 using the regional FFD model haven’t given up on it. Yet. But if they absorb it’ll become cattle cars again. These jets can hold more seats that they presently do. One domino falls and they all will. It’s just who is gonna go first. The AA gamble is - all your pilots belong to us. With forced upgrades they may win the battle. Huge safety gamble in my opinion. Let the press get hold of the forced upgrade facts and it’ll be interesting.

Yet. (Filler).

Forced upgrades can be done intelligently, ie not right at legal mins. If the business model does not support right seat lifers, so be it. Nothing says you have an entitlement to stay an FO forever. Airlines can and do hire "future Captains", not career FO's.

Yeah, that makes sense until a guy who was recently "forced" to upgrade is involved in a national media incident.

After the bankruptcy 26% was owned by AA, and IIRC DL and UA has a 24% share each, with the rest being owned by GE and Embraer.

And then, like Comair, THAT regional becomes expendable. Wash, rinse, and repeat as necessary.

https://www.airdatanews.com/us-regio...on-the-ground/

Or regionals simply hire for CA's, with the clear expectation that upgrade is mandatory at X level of experience. Then apply reasonably high standards, and terminate those who fail, and those who "fail".

Skywest used to do that, the termination part. So did AA mainline... they actually had a mandatory upgrade requirement for a long time.

A business can do that, if necessary for staffing. Nuclear power plants rotate all ops workers through rotating shifts, so everybody does days, swings, and nights in rotation. That prevents the otherwise inevitable situation of having all the experienced people on the day shift, with amateur night on the backside.