If there is already 1056 pilots on the seniority list, how do you come up with the 350 more pilots in 2008? Is there a lot of attrition at Mesaba?

There is nothing in your flow up/down agreement that prevents the 9 mesaba pilots from going before Compass but there is in ours:

Compass Airlines pilots will be offered employment at Northwest Airlines before any other Northwest Airlines Affiliate Carrier or new hires from the street directly to Northwest Airlines.
a. Offers to flow up will be in seniority order, provided that, in order to be eligible to flow up a pilot, must:
(1) Be a captain, and
(2) Have at least thirty (30) months on payroll at Compass Airlines (see Sections 7 A. and 14 A.1.c. for definition of “on payroll”; for purposes of this paragraph 22 D.3., a pilot shall be deemed to be on payroll while on military leave).
b. The maximum number of Compass pilots flowing up to Northwest shall be:
(1) twenty-five percent (25%) of the total pilot group over a rolling twelve (12) month period, and
(2) No more than twenty (20) pilots per month.

Like you said, the flow agreement will have to find its way into the new mainline contract. Back in March (I think) when there was a combined agreement ready to go, the XJ & CP flow agreements were in tact as is.

I know you are happy about the growth that XJ has been experiencing but they only need so many Captains and from what I have heard they already have just under 500 Captains on the list. Even with 5.5 Captains per plane they would only need 560 or so and 1100 to 1200 total pilots. I guess I don't see how it's revelvant to say upgrades are running 6 months. How many pilots did XJ have 6 months ago when those people were hired? Someone offered employment now would prabably not even be in class until mid summer and would have to move up hundreds of numbers to upgrade.