Robert R. gets a no-prize he can jingle for spare change as people walk by for bringing us this rather sardonic look at the regional airline business.

The criticism may be a bit overblown, but it does at least track somewhat with other things I've read over the years. A career as a commercial pilot is supposed to have quite a bit of reward potential, but from the pilot's side almost all regional carriers supported by the majors (which is to say, almost all) are, like their parent companies, very poorly run. Powerful unions, as they are wont to do, have imposed byzantine and parochial advancement and pay rules, providing powerful disincentives to hard work. Take the two together and you end up with something that looks a lot like what the video is railing against.

The unfortunate thing is that as long as the majors are propped up and regularly bailed out by the government, the situation is unlikely to change any time soon. But it's not all bad. Otherwise there wouldn't be so many people applying for the job. Still, it's definitely not the glamorous profession portrayed in the movies. It hasn't been for quite some time.