Lie to myself? Never. We did go from 50 to 70 in the late 90s, and again that was the wrong move. Going to 76 seats wasn't really totally our fault, since it was done with a BK judge watching, and infact NWA had already hit that number before we did. That is why it only went to 76, rather than something higher. (It was a Compass number for the E175)Total blame on me just doesn't work, regardless if you continually spout "indignation" krap at me.
So now what do we do? We make sure it doesn't go any higher, and BK doesn't look like it is on the horizon anytime soon---which helps. As far as you sitting in the right seat of your barbiejet, as long as your company expands, the chances of you staying there increases. See, guys like USCTrojan have no reason to want to go to the majors, since it would mean starting over and actually taking orders from someone older with more experience, rather than doling it out to a newhire with less experience. He is all for larger RJs, even though it hurts all of you sitting there in the right seat with very little upside when it comes to future financial stability. The guys you should be mad at aren't guys like me, but rather lazy arses like USCTrojan, who wants everything given to him. He will sit at ASA and watch his fleet get smaller, the FAA rest rules eat away at his airline's profitability, and then make less money at a smaller regional, all while he thinks he deserves more. The regionals are going to get slammed, and a lot of people don't see that. What I want is for more people to go to larger airlines and make better lives for themselves. Guys like USC won't try to leave because he knows he wouldn't pass a psych test, a cog test, and a personality test infront of a panel of Captains. Hopefully you will have an easier path, but it won't be easy at the regionals like it was 5-6 years ago. RJs just don't work like they used to. 50 seaters are on the way out, unless you pay United to use them (XJET).
Bye Bye--General Lee