I think this discussion came out about 5 or 6 years ago when the RJ started popping up all over the place. Don't get me wrong, they're great, but only WHEN PROPERLY HANDLED. Many people had your idea, and except for the current situation, having mainline carriers in charge and merging lists would have been a good idea. But currently, with the feed relationship having been reversed, it may be more of an anchor than a liferaft for this to happen.
When this all started, I was one of the loudest voices FOR the regionals getting lots of jets. And with the pre-Sept 11th situation, I feel I was on the right track. But Sept 11th became a catalyst that fulfilled the gloomy prophecy that many mainline pilots had---that RJ's would cost mainline pilots their jobs. Now, not only has that prophecy come true, but it also has been taken a step further by brininging pay and such down to a level that I have never seen in 20 years of flying. Who ever thought of a jet pilot earning under $19,000 a year, then graduating to $26,000 the next? In a way, we brought it on ourselves, unintentionally. But I wish I'd have kept my mouth shut when this could have been nipped in the bud. In the long run, we'd have sat in those props longer, but we wouldn't be inheriting the current shambles that the majors are becoming now...being eaten alive by their "feeder" airlines that have planes nearly as big as the mainline carriers.
The argument about the 50 seat market being too small is no good. The bigger market is what the majors are for. Feeders should stick with the 50 seaters. Big enough to pay the pilots, but small enough to keep majors alive so there is movement and a higher level ahead. For the future, I see us all getting the same darn thing at all levels of the industry because we gave the carrot to the horse instead of holding it out on a stick.
