...you and probably 75% of the current pilot group wouldn't take it. Compass isn't worried about what its current pilots want! We are already here and most are staying till we can move on to our career airline.

The Goal of a HA flow would be to attract new hires and fill seats in class. Compass doesn't care if those seats are filled with UND grads from the midwest, Riddle grads from Arizona or Caravan drivers from Mokulele. A flow to HA would fill seats! As far as who it does attract, local Hawaiians who don't mind commuting or moving to LA (closest possible mainland base) for a few years knowing they have a guaranteed job back home in a few years.

As far as the size thing goes the two companies actually match up really well for a flow. If HA wanted to do a flow with anyone a smaller airline makes perfect sense. They take our guys at a rate that we can easily replace but not to slow as to be unattractive. If they paired up with a larger regional and only flow 30-50 a year the time to flow for a newhire would be so long that it might not be attractive enough to pull in said newhires.

That leaves the last part of the question, why would HA want to have a flow at all? Well as time goes on and hiring continues to pick up at the majors the applicant pool will begin to dry up. HA will likely be the first to feel the effects of this, for the exact reasons you mentioned (small, niche, surface of the moon). Even if only 15% of our 700+ pilot group ended up flowing that would be enough to insure a reliable workforce for at lease the next few years.

Like you I would almost certainly turn down the flow if given the chance. An 8+ hour commute from MSP is not feasible but again this isn't about guys like us we are already here. I however fully support it as it would mean classes would fill and progression would begin again!

By NO means am I saying I think this will or won't ever happen, to be honest I have NO idea, just my $.02 on why it might not be a crazy an idea as some might think.