Nobody made them stay. They could have just as easily have walked (possibly after forking over $7500 which is asinine to begin with).

This entire industry is a massive risk taking...nobody at a regional can predict their upgrade time, they're time to the majors, how far they'll get in the majors, or how many furloughs they'll go through. The only given about this industry is that it can turn on a dime.

I came here knowing I could upgrade quick or get stuck as an FO for a few years. It's a risk I'm willing to take. Most situations that would drag out the upgrade time here would do the same thing to any other carrier, and when the situation resolves itself you'd still be in a better upgrade position at a carrier like C5 where the pilot group is small.

I flew with a 26 year old Capt today who is leaving for JB...not a bad deal.