Actually, that is a good point. I have heard of many occasions where management terminated those with a seniority number for no reason (because they can) rather than furlough. I am not sure if there is any difference for the airline but it is a huge difference to the pilot that now has to hope that each interviewer throughout the rest of their career believes them that they were terminated rather than furloughed at no fault of their own. I have heard through a friend of a friend so no real proof, that Chataqua did that to their last class of trainees. That is one of the companies that is considered 'respectable' at the regional level. In fact I personally know a few pilots that left Mesa to go fly for them.

So yeah, maybe Mesa did something right for once.