What has happened to the Regional business is that the cost gap has closed. In the last 9 years, fuel cost, maintenance cost, and the cost of a maturing pilot group has raised the cost of operating the feeds. That cost difference...between Legacy and Regional used to be the money that was available to pay for Regional airline management (buildings, salaries, insurance, etc,). and leave a little bit left over for the shareholders. Now, with that gap closed, it becomes a question of "Why pay for all of the duplicity?". Legacy carriers already have scheduling, maintenance, HR, insurance, training departments. It really looks to me like time has come for those to go...


The up side of this for the pilots is that there aren't enough. The airplanes still have to move, but the don't have to say "operated by" on the sides...

the numbers to compare is the actual cost of an rj versus the mainline aircraft including the seat differential plus the additional cost due to benefits on the mainline versus rj. there are more factors than one can compare. mainline pilots also have become senior as the rj operators, benefits cost are higher at mainline than at the rj level. training is kept to bare minimum at regionals while mainline is a bit longer. The big factor is FUEL but that can be offset by the differences mentioned above. then comes where mainline says I am only paying this much take it or leave it, which forces the regional management to seek to lower employee cost and benefits at the regional level to make a profit based on the price mainline wants to pay.

When mainlines are reporting 3-500 million per quarter profits, if they want the feed they can pay more for it, if they don't want to they can bring the flying to mainline or get rid of it, it is mainlines choice, not the regionals responsibility.

Mainline has the regionals fly a large number of money losing routes just to keep the mainline colors and advertising in those markets. But that will change with the fact regionals cannot staff the schedule because mainline is hiring the regional pilots and the regionals cannot replace for attrition.

But if the cost is at best a minimum 10% difference in favor of the regionals, they will still be there.

10 years ago the 50 seat RJ had the highest seat per mile costs...I guess the 70-90 seat range is now approaching those costs...The 737-800 I believe still has the lowest costs and that is with the legacy average crew costs...

As the regional business shrinks, costs will increase... They will have to consolidate or be absorbed.

True, but CSM is paid for by RSM.. you cant send 70 empty 737 seats into a market just because their empty seats are cheaper to run than an RJ's full seats. The markets have to be served... The mainline is WANTING to pay X amount... the question is what are they WILLING to pay.

You send 1 737 out in the morning and one in at night. Delete the 8 rj flights..

Thats not how that works

What market still has 8 RJ flights a day? On any airline???

Actually that is how it works. DAL is doing it on several markets ASA used to serve with multiple RJs and even ATRs. CHA, TRI, AVL, VPS, ECP, FNT, OKC, TUL, MGM just to name a few. 8 RJs before, now 2-3 Maddogs or 717s.

You have to match asses to seats..Delta has gotten VERY good at that. Airlines are no longer throwing seats around as a market strategy...no, but you still have to go when/where the demand is. 3 717s is VERY different from two 737s.