Not really. Independence Air went out of business, but the certificate remained active.

NWA simply purchased the cert of a defunct airline. Independence Air didn't become Compass. Although many ACA/I-Air people went from there to Compass. But there were still many hurdles to overcome, mainly trying to get a new fleet type added to an existing cert, as well as the fact that it's a new operation as far as the feds are concerned. But that process is easier than just starting a whole "new" airline.

As a side note, DAL purchased the original ACJet certificate from ACAI Corp, for what reason, who knows. May have had to do with them being the ones that cancelled the DCI contract and a cost they would be legally obligated to absorb per the agreement. Just like the leases on the FRJ's that sat idle in MYR after they were parked.