RJs wont make a difference. The customer base is fickle.
I was riding on Continental Express just a few days ago and overheard a number of my fellow-passengers commenting on the brand-new ERJ-Long Range (winglets).
Three little girls (12,13?) upon deplaning said it was the most frightening thing they''ve ever experienced.
A businessman, talking on his cell phone, griped about having to ride on "one of those commuter jets".
A passenger boarding in Cleveland asked the F/A when they would be getting "big planes".
My seatmate commented, "These things get smaller all the time, dont they?"
People complain about driving to hubs, so airlines start regionals.
People complain about Metroliners and Jetstreams so airlines get cabin-class aircraft.
People complain about props so the airlines get jets.
People complain about high airfares, so city-pairs get regional jets.
People complain about regional jets, but they''re not willing to pay increased cost of having Boeing 757 service from Pittsburgh to Altoona. (tongue-in-cheek)
The fact is people will complain regardless of what equipment you provide them with. As much as people might like it for airlines to be just like Greyhound (with fares to match) you simply cant have the combination of equipment, city-pairs, airfares, and service that customers want -- it cant be done.
I dont care if Jetblue or Southwest takes over the PLANET with K-mart airfares... they will never be able to offer service to the Huntsville, Altoona, Shreveport, Elmira, Fort Wayne... fill-in-the-name-of-the-small-city-here...
So yes, US Airways needs RJs to remain competitive, but those who believe that RJs will be the magic-genie which will suddenly heal all of US Airways ills and provide vast amounts of incremental revenue enabling the airline to grow in leaps and bounds --- they''re on crack.
RJs are simply one piece in the puzzle. The largest pieces of the puzzle have nothing to do with RJs: Customer Service, and Route-Network.
Until customer service becomes a priority, and until US Airways expands its network to become more than an east-coast regional it will not -- regardless of how many RJs Piedaghenymesatauqua flies -- be the success that its employees know it has the potential to be.