Here is how I understand it

If I were Senior Mesaba then I would say date of hire is fair due to all the time it took to get there.

If I am Senior at Colgan I would say relative is fair due to status quo bidding and placement on list should remain the same.

If I am Senior at Pinnacle I would say some combination of the two is fair so we don't lose places from Mesaba's older date of hire or Colgans young group.