Originally Posted by
Karl-MDW
So, if there are delays, the regional makes adjustments - usually making passengers connecting to/from mainline flights miss connections.
This is a two-way street. The regional has no obligation to wait if your mainline flight is delayed.
Originally Posted by
Karl-MDW
Which airline pays for the missed connections, re-bookings, vouchers (yeah, right?!?)?
The mainline. You bought the ticket with them. They are the ones contractually obligated to get you to your destination.
Regionals get paid by the flight. If they don't operate, they don't get paid. They also have to operate within the guidelines of what they major has provided. So, if the major says, "You're going to take a 3 hour flow delay so that I can get my flight in on-time," then you do it. If a flight crew ultimately ends up timing out because of it, and those passengers get stranded, then unfortunately, the only one at fault is the major.
In relation to the main topic of MX, the mainline is aware that MX will and does happen, regardless of who operates the plane. The obligation is still on the mainline to get you from point A to B. Here in the U.S., there's several options to achieve this goal. I mean, you could be like that one UA flight in Europe a couple months ago that ended up being delayed on MX for a few days, with no recourse.