Majors buying regionals in future

[i fly boxes]

The majors need their regional feed but what is going to happen in about 5 years? American already made a little step in this direction by giving everyone at eagle a number but can anyone else see the scenario of the legacies approaching their regional partners and giving them numbers or just saying well we are going to take you and your pilots over.
Pros - scope would no longer be an issue, everyone would have at least 1500 hours, major job protection for those currently on the legacy list, and it would allow mainline to put the correct airplanes on the correct routes and ditch as many 50 seat a/c as they want.

Cons - mainline inability to screen candidates, possible B scale wage,

 

[redflyer65]

Lately, they've been selling them.

 

[Bwipilot]

No way in hell the Majors are going to repurchase their RJ operators. It would remove their ability to dump old planes from their operation (50 seat RJs) and whipsaw the crews against each other to pay the lowest wages. Add in the fact that the Majors have two much debt and it's just a pipe dream for a regional pilot hoping for an easy way to the majors. Eagle pilots got a number as a going away present from AMR.

Caveat: if there ever becomes a huge pilot or RJ shortage, the stronger majors might gobble up there RJ feed--but monkeys will fly out your butt before that happens.

 

[Ridgeback]

Delta sold Mesaba and Compass sunsetting their flows...They negoiated Some to flow but could have taken everyone but passed

 

[Flyby1206]

No way in hell the Majors are going to repurchase their RJ operators. It would remove their ability to dump old planes from their operation (50 seat RJs) and whipsaw the crews against each other to pay the lowest wages.

This ^^^

In an extreme pilot shortage scenario, the carriers who will feel it the most are the regionals. Majors will have no problems sucking up hundreds of guys from RJs, but those RJ carriers will have problems finding newhires to replace them. The solution to that is shrinking the regional carrier flying and bring back capacity to mainline.

 

[Fubijaakr]

Exactly. If the majors can't get enough feed from shrinking regionals they'll just replace the six flights a day to small cities with two or three narrowbodies.

That'll help airport congestion, too.

 

[ualdriver]

This ^^^

In an extreme pilot shortage scenario, the carriers who will feel it the most are the regionals. Majors will have no problems sucking up hundreds of guys from RJs, but those RJ carriers will have problems finding newhires to replace them. The solution to that is shrinking the regional carrier flying and bring back capacity to mainline.

Or....perish the thought......regional airlines could simply pay their pilots a wage commensurate with the education and experience the job requires. They could stop beating their pilots about the head and shoulders for sport. They could make their regional airline a career destination by providing pay, work rules, benefits, and career advancement opportunities that will make pilots want to stay.

That's crazy talk though, I know!

 

[Flyby1206]

Or....perish the thought......regional airlines could simply pay their pilots a wage commensurate with the education and experience the job requires. They could stop beating their pilots about the head and shoulders for sport. They could make their regional airline a career destination by providing pay, work rules, benefits, and career advancement opportunities that will make pilots want to stay.

That's crazy talk though, I know!

Shut your mouth boy!

But yes I think regionals will continue to raise pay marginally, but it will be in direct relation to the mainline labor costs. If regionals get 'too expensive' then that will cause mainline mgmt to shift flying back to the legacy carrier.

Considering there are really 3 major players in the regional game (Skywest/Republic/Pinnacle) they will control the pricing on the majority of feed contracts and they know the consequences of being too expensive. Regional carrier mergers have shadowed the legacy carriers by providing growth, pricing power, and a way to spread costs over a wider range.

The truth of it is that raising pay at regionals wont change the number of newhire applications significantly. Most CFIs take a pay cut to start out at a regional in the current environment, and we do it in hopes of gaining experience to make it to the top someday.

 

[whatitdoing?]

I think the days of the regional airline are limited. You'll see a slow and and long term pullback as flying is brought back to the mainline carrier. All it's going to take is one major airline contract with strong scope protections and the rest will follow.

 

[IBNAV8R]

IMHO, majors buying regionals would result in a "C" scale. Pilots would never go for it. My guess is that before that happens, majors will increasingly focus on the juicy overseas routes and leave the domestic market to regionals, who will eventually do most, if not all, of the narrow-body North America flying.

If WN doesn't fall into one of these categories, I'll give 'em 15-20 years - tops.

Then again, we may be all sitting in the Wal-Mart break room boring the crap out of the whipper-snappers reminiscing about when airliners USED to actually have pilots on the airplanes.