Originally Posted by
atpcliff
Delta has over 100 RJs during in the desert they are making lease payments on.
Right. RJs. Those are the airplanes which Delta farms out to their regional partners. While the regional have made improvements recently, the pay and quality of life is still, for the most part, abysmal. Most of the pay numbers you hear tossed about include things like "hiring bonuses" which make the first years look more attractive, but don't constitute meaningful improvements to the pay scale across a career.
When Delta starts parking mainline aircraft, intended to be operated by Delta pilots, due to a lack of Delta pilots on the Delta seniority list, then there's a shortage. Until then, parking RJ's just means that there's a shortage of pilots willing to fly RJs for the crap wages and conditions that regionals offer.