Doesn't matter what their mentality is. They can't just go and buy whoever they want. It has to be approved by DOJ. And they've been shot down twice for an alliance with BA, just an alliance. AA is about to lose their title. It's only months away.

It's not like it's a title that means much in terms of passenger preference anyway. Look at the airlines pax rank highest in the world and aside from SWA and Emirates, they are generally the smaller ones. Biggest doesn't mean most secure, or best. If AA is really concerned about that title, I'd be worried.

As far as the initial thread went, just follow the numbers to answer your question. The regionals are not even filling classes with 250 hour pilots whereas DAL had beyond 12,000 apps from guys whose average time exceeded 4,000 TT (civilian). Seems 12,000 guys are wanting to leave from somewhere.