Some do, yeah. Last winter a couple guys left for other gigs so they could stay down there. Some simply quit, not wanting to go back up north (Cape requires a 6 month commitment if you come in with an ATP). I know a couple other guys who went part-time to avoid going north as well. I'm not sure how many people in total won't transition, but I'd imagine right now that most will go north to keep their jobs.

Staying south is becoming more and more difficult from what I'm told. Lines get chopped in the Caribbean over the summer, which forces a lot of pilots back up north. They chopped pretty deep this last year. The company has been running very lean staffing models because of the EAS expansion, so the Caribbean has been seeing a lot less staffing than years past.

Strangely enough, the Caribbean went very senior this last winter. It used to be that you didn't usually have much of a choice in the matter; I know when I first got hired in Fall 2008, there was no question where I was going. Now with the rampant EAS expansion, junior pilots can generally expect ALB or STL outstation bases (OGS, MSS, ART, UIN, MWA, CGI). In fact, the most junior pilot in SJU is a 12/2008 hire. The most junior captain in the Caribbean period upgraded in 05/2009.

Mini, I've told ya...If you're really interested, send me a resume and I'll send it to the right people. Can't guarantee anything, but it could help.