Northwest Airlines Can Use Its Compass

Compass..as in Compass Airlines. Northwest Airlines' new subsidiary received the go ahead from the Department of Transportation to start operations. Compass will be the new commuter airline for Northwest after the "Big Red Tail" unceremoniously dumped its long time partner Mesaba Airlines. This along with Northwest using its bankruptcy to halt all payments drove Mesaba to bankruptcy as well. The relationship between the two was often contentious especially when it came to wrangling with the pilot's union to decide which flights Mesaba could actually operate for Northwest. Reports indicate that Northwest intends to start using Compass next March to fly smaller aircraft ranging from 34 to 69 seats.
This is starting to become a trend. JetBlue and Frontier are both planning similar ventures. Could this be the pattern for the new age airline?