Mainline pilots and ALPA dropped the ball by initially and currently letting any flying be outsourced, especially any jet over 50 seats. That much is true.
As for "making the bed", its not permanent. Mainlines can reclaim their flying anytime they want to bargain for it. ACMI outsource lift providers can comply with mainline terms or go Independence Air. No other choice. The RJDC supporters claimed that once flying is outsourced, even for a day, that flying forever is the domain of the group (within the same union) that received the outsource contract. That insane presumption is 100% false, and the lawsuit yielded nothing but a "heads up" and partial attorney expenses. End of story.
Of course SkyWest and ASA have made profits. They were in the business of guaranteed profits. Even when each could theoretically lose money they didn't because they had someone else selling and filling their seats for them, with worldwide brand recognition and global connections. If SkyWest and/or ASA are such profit machines, dump the Delta and United albatrosses, buy 777's and do the flying yourself. Or run an airline with hundreds of RJ's and a few narrow bodies, whatever your choice. But as long as you do one seat of Delta or United code, you are bound to serve Delta and United on their terms. You will never own one seat of DL or UA flying, ever. Not even close. You only own EV and OO code, which doesn't yet exist among the traveling public. Go Independence if you want to change that.
Of course mainlines need domestic feed. And some of that feed needs to come from 90, 70 and 50 seat RJ's as well as props. No one disputes that. But here's the gold standard with this whole argument that you don't seem to get as of yet: mainlines can do their own feed anytime they want to, and their pilots can pilot that feed anytime they negotiate the restoration of their scope. Scope that you have no claim whatsoever to and never will. Delta and United can hire your company, another company, start a company that doesn't exist yet, or bring it in house completely, and in either case there is nothing you can do about it because you have no claim to another airline's flying.
As for your 30 years of profits, again, go Independence if the company is so awesome and invincible. Either that or take what DL and UA and whoever else's contract you win for the duration that you win it, but it will never be yours to own or control.
