You cannot use past upgrade times as a method of comparing the good and bad points of different companies and expect people to take what you are saying seriously.

Upgrade time at Compass was immediate when it started -- as any startup airline experiences. But what is the upgrade time for someone being taken out of the Compass pool and put into class next week? One year? Two? Five years?

Upgrade time at ExpressJet for those hired in 2005 was as rapid as 18 months. But what about someone hired in summer 2007 that's furloughed right now? They are most likely not going to see upgrade for another five, six, perhaps eight years depending on what goes on.

So I think we can all agree that comparing upgrade times of those hired one, two, maybe four years ago is ludicrous as the pilot group has no control over it and the company may not either, if the company is a vendor for a mainline carrier.

Next you bring up furloughs.

Kind of daring to use that in the comparison too, don't you think? ExpressJet has 350 on furlough right now but if Delta decides that it needs to cut back 5-10% of its workforce then guess how many Compass might have on furlough a year and half from now? Just as many as ExpressJet. What would happen to your upgrade time comparison then?

You bring up flowthrough to mainline.

Do you really think that Delta, who in times of hiring, incorporates a multi-day interview to include MMPI, a technical exam, HR board, a visit to a psychologist, and a medical exam is going to all of a sudden open the doors to a pilot group with no restrictions whatsoever? That could actually happen. But if you think the flowthrough is guaranteed to happen as advertised, think again. It can change with a quick LOA to get rid of it both ways and suddenly, the third and final thing you've used to compare airlines is gone like the other two.

You mention the payscale and draft pay for junior manning. That is at ExpressJet too, in addition to dozens of other airlines. It is expected.