Ah, the old "join us now and you'll be entitled to shares" scam!! Unless the plaintiff's have the verbal statements on tape, which is highly unlikely, it will all come down to who's word does the judge believe, the 7 pilots or the Chief Pilot who made the unfortunate remarks.
In the Chief Pilot's defence, employee share allocation schemes often have "must have been with the company since [date]" or "must have [number] full years service" to be entitled conditions. Unless he had been involved with a company floatation before he may not have been aware of these curveballs.
Personally, I am holding a shares certificates for my employer which are worth the square root of naff all at the moment as we haven't floated yet. With the current state of the industry 'd be surprised if the floatation ever hapens.
Pay me in real dollars not worthless share certificates!!!
Whooaahh!!!