It's not economics its rational pilots being rational. The FAA has raised the hours a flight officer needs to operate a commerical plane. This has created a dou

It's not economics its rational pilots being rational. The FAA has raised the hours a flight officer needs to operate a commerical plane. This has created a double hump in the D/S curve. Low hour pilots are worthless and high hour pilots cost too much. So you raise salaries right? High hour pilots don't want to leave their nice, stable job (with benefits!) to work for perpetually bankrupt regional carrier. They might be able to get the occasional burnout or fired with cause pilot but not in any good quantity.