No previous RJ experience (caveat),
No single pilot would've stopped what happened when DAL or whatever mainline group first had the opportunity to alter the cycle of "big" vs "small" IMHO. No one is to blame, businesses evolve, careers do also.
Some of the absolutely best pilots I fly with at SWA are previous RJ pilots from every company out there....I'm very grateful for their training, experience and most importantly their experience.
For an ex-RJ pilot who is now mainline to object to their company placing restrictions on future RJ growth is completely reasonable but certainly not hypocritical. RJ flying is here to stay...those positions will be out there as long as we have mainline. Putting all pilots at a carrier with RJ flying on a single seniority list is the evolution of the business model....this would've happened in the case of the Lynx folks with F9 if that deal had gone through...I see this next evolution, if it had occurred, as a good thing.
There are enough reasons to rag on each other but accusing former RJ pilots of hypocrisy for expressing their views about the current RJ/mainline debate doesn't honestly acknowledge the obvious lessons learned through the years and the impact those earlier decisions made have had on the longterm health of careers at mainline. Current and former RJ pilots are great pilots and deserve great praise for slugging it out they way they have (I was military and have the utmost respect for their professional progression...not sure I would've stuck with it the way they have!) and the hope is that decisions made now will better the careers for all but that is a long term view and doesn't negate the short-term impact of how RJ flying is developing today...BTW, they are the only folks hiring today (except for Allegiant I believe).
