The reason for the bonus from an AF perspective is to ensure they have an adequate pilot inventory once the airlines begin hiring. If I were making the case to leadership for approval of a bonus, I would point to the mandatory retirements projected for all the airlines (currently at about 2,000 by 2015) and say we need our pilots under contract to ensure they won't bail at that time. Even though budgets are tight, it's a small price to pay to retain experience that resulted from very expensive training programs.