I am not with Breeze, so I can't speak for them.

ExpressJet would have continued with the "top heavy" payscale. We even offered to take on United pilots that got laid off if we had space to take them on if UA would have let us fly under their code independently. The airline would have flown 175s and 190s as it transitioned out of 145s. The payscale on the 175 was fine. It would have given the new ExpressJet a shot without compromising anyone's quality of life. It would have lifted the CLE Concourse D completely off of UA. ALPA was informed and they had no issue with the plan. United never responded. United would have even gotten some money for the certificate.

There is a difference between the viability of an airline as a feeder and the viability as a standalone operation. Neither are easy, but the economics as a standalone are more favorable if you can create the right network. A point to point operation with a focus at CLE would have done reasonably well.