KRUSTY,
I'm not a financial guy and can't defend or condemn the financial arrangement between majors and their regional partners. But, someone who is knowledgeable can address the "fee for departure" financial arrangement between the two levels of carriers.
I found this on another forum:
"It's the majors who refuse to pay more for their feed, the regionals aren't withholding pay out of greed, their slim margins make it almost impossible.
Until it actually starts affecting the mainlines it won't change anything, musical airplanes, shuffle pilots around, stick some duct tape on the gaping hole to slow the leak. Eventually they'll have to address it, whether it be pay the regionals more or bring it back in house, probably a bit of both. If it gets to the point where regionals are no longer cost effective to farm out to then they'll dry up anyway.
I just don't know where the money is gonna come from."