True, but I think that launching/undocking a spaceship in 2669 is probably comparatively easier than launching a seaplane in 1941 -- no need to get up to speed to get airborne for one.
The ability to simply shove the craft out the lock would definitely make life easier. However, recovery would still be just as much of a problem, if not more so. Have you ever seen spaceships docking? It's a very difficult procedure involving the need to match base velocities, spin, and alignment. Even the slighest misalignment could result in a crash of ~100 mph! Remember, in space it takes very little to change the velocity and direction of an object. i.e. There's almost no friction.
If you could continuously accelerate at rates that most cars are capable of, you'd find yourself going hundreds of thousands of miles per hour within fifteen minutes! Now imagine the powerful rockets they use for manuvering, and you'll find that docking is anything but easy to do. I imagine that even the crane method of WWI was fraught with all kinds of perils.
I still think you're better off assuming that Escort Carriers have been sold to private hands as the demands of war required that Confed deploy newer and more powerful carriers. An example of this in modern history is the HMS Vengence which was sold into private hands (on EBay, none the less) for a mere 2 million dollars! She was purchased by Brazil, but was later put back up for sale. Last I knew, a Japanese company was considering making her into a Casino.
One of the biggest issues that Brazil had with the carrier were operational costs. Unlike a Battleship which is itself a weapon, an Aircraft carrier is merely a weapons platform. As a result, its operation requires a significant, ongoing operational expense that far exceeds its initial aquisition cost. Brazil learned this the hard way and never managed to bring the carrier into full operational status.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Vengeance_(R71)
http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/vengeance/
So how would one go about merging this into the game? Well, IMHO, it would be nice to have a true carrier added that would have significant cargo space (like the Paradigm). You can then choose to use that space for either cargo or for flight operations. i.e. Do I ship 5000 cubic meters of grain, or do I purchase missile loadouts, spare armor, extra parts, and more aircraft? And remember, you need to hire a wingman for every plane you launch off the deck.
Once that's in the game, then we should stop pretending that carriers are fighter craft. Instead of "flying" the ship, you'll be running carrier operations such as launch, plane recovery, and repair/turnaround. An interface should be added to the HUD that allows you to see the status of all your planes at once. A small graphic for each ship, plus the standard white/red system would work fine. Perhaps an indicator for missiles/no-missiles. You could then command your ships to launch or recover. When they're recovered, it will take each ship about 5 minutes to be automatically repaired, prepped, and relaunched. (Perhaps this could be changed based on how many grease monkeies you hire?) The only way a pilot could immediately relaunch is if you have another plane already prepped for him.
I know it would make for a very different game than privateer, but that's pretty much what happens when you add capships to the game. Still, it could be a very *cool* game that builds on what Privateer started.
A few things would need to change, however:
1. Capships should have more armor. This nonsense about a capship being taken out by a couple of talons is exactly that.
2. Phase Shields? Anyone? Even if we assume that the WC3 gun enhancements are available in Privateer, it still shouldn't be very easy to take them out with guns. This nonsense about a capship being taken out by a couple of talons is exactly that.
3. True torpedos need to become available. These torps would provide the only sure way to bring down a capship. This nonsense about a capship being taken out by a couple of talons is exactly that.
4. The best way to take care of a capship, is to RUN AWAY. Those things are big, have lots-o-guns, and could outlast a single fighter any day. The only advantage small ships have is their speed. If you want to take on capships, you better be packing some torps. This nonsense about a capship being taken out by a couple of talons is exactly that.
Oh, and did I mention that this nonsense about a capship being taken out by a couple of talons is exactly that?
The upside to all of this is that fanboys get their super-ships, but they pay dearly for operating it. Not to mention that WCU becomes an even more interesting game. Wouldn't it be fun to take bounties from Confed for taking out Kilrathi carriers and bases?