Unfortunately pay at the majors is coming down to regional levels rather than the other way around. It may now be impossible for regional pilots to obtain more lucrative contracts because the operating economics of a 737 or A320 look much better than they already do vs. a 50 or 70 seat RJ when the crews are paid the same. We're getting close to that. The ALPA majors are paying for what they gave up in scope with cuts from the bottom of their payscales. And it's still only "the elite" that get to go work for a major, after putting in years at a regional, maintaining a perfect record, good health, and giving up a place near the top of a long seniority list. That "reward" is looking less and less appealing every month, but it's still better than looking forward to flying at a regional forever. That's why you still have twenty-gazillion resumes at CAL even though starting pay is less than what I make as a 2nd year RJ FO. That is why you'd probably still have thousands of resumes if starting pay was 20 bucks an hour.
That said, I can't be too critical. Of course I have my application in at CAL.
The Majors used to be the carrot dangling on a string, a foot in front of the face of every regional pilot. Pretty soon no one will be cracking six figures until they get to the widebodies as captains, and that will be only carrot. Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but it sure seems like things are headed that way.
