Con-pilot: That is quite a description. Excellent.
Why did the FAA/DOT allow so many airlines to order so many jets which operate between any city-pair, mostly using higher altitudes than a Brasilia, SF-340 or B-1900 but only having 30-50 seats, in most cases?
One airline operates some CRJs with only 44 seats, in order to sneak through the scope clause. Think about the operating costs with about 12% fewer tickets which can be sold, for the same basic airframe! About 12% less revenue. And due to very lousy pay (a result of the sadly typical quality of their upper management), they have serious problems recruiting pilots who have any solid experience, and lose about 30 Captains per month. They can not operate their normal schedule.
But at least there are far fewer spinning propellers for harried, inexperienced ramp staff to walk into. Years ago two female ramp workers were killed by walking into propellers, in EWR and MEM.
