Just looked at the current contract and there are no such restrictions. There is mention of the 125 count limit for 50-seater's by the end of the contract, but nothing about stage lengths or routes. I'm calling bull on this claim.
Never ceases to amaze me the number of posts in this forum that are made to support a certain agenda even when the underlying truths do not support the posts. Even more amazing is the number of times the posts are called out as inaccurate and yet the posts keep coming.