Flowthrough agreement is inplace as of NOW with Mesaba and Compass but according the the NWA representative at the FLTops Conference, the flowthrough agreement has not been negotiated yet whether it will remain after the merger with the Delta.

I know you have a lot of experience and I am going to give the same advice I gave to a retired AF Col who was looking for a flying gig after his retirement, and that is this: since no majors are hiring right now, you should get a flying gig either with corporate outfits such as NetJets, CitationShares or with a good solid regional and stay current. If your plan is to get on with a major, I think it is better to go with a good regional and get a lot of 121 flying.

Another thing you should know is that IF NWA starts to furlough pilots (I think that may not happen but it could happen), Compass has no protection from every NWA pilot displacing them. Only those pilots who have elected NOT to flowthru will get to keep their jobs. On the other hand, at Mesaba, only the same number of pilots who have flowed up(right now 14) can flowdown. Even then, they cannot displace Mesaba pilots because the seniority number of those pilots who have flowed up remain vacant so no one is displaced at Mesaba.

I can PM you more info if interested. All I am saying is do your research before making your decisions. Interview with Mesaba and Compass and then make your decisions.