As Republic, Express Jet, Compass and others continue to demonstrate they are certainly able to staff their airlines today. Comair management would certainly have been able to hire replacements for the mandatory retirements. Whether or not they could have hired for a sinking ship is another story.
Comair ceased to exist simply because it was in managements best interest to shut it down and continue the whipsaw with everyone else.
1st you obviously have zero evidence or knowledge of the actual staffing situations at the airlines your discussing. Hiring is but one part of the equation. None of them are retaining pilots at acceptable rates to staff their own flying; let alone any new flying.
Why do you think so many managements are after contract amendments outside of bankruptcy and section six right now? They already know what you refuse to accept. There aren't enough pilots already at regionals.
2nd if it was in managements best interest to continue a whipsaw then they would not remove an entire airline from the equation. They'd have kept a small Comair around to aid the whipsaw. Had they done that, they'd be left with the top half of your seniority list only. Then they'd be replacing them in the middle of this crunch. Your logic is flawed.
Back to Eagle.
There is nobody to replace Eagle with. They could move some flying successfully to Piedmont as replacement flying as they park the older turboprops. However, nobody is capable of accepting any real growth flying.
There are two plans for Eagle. One is much better than the other; however both provide continued employment.
The kid asked if he should stay or go.
The short answer is; stay.