"The current PPRUNE rumour is that somehow CX will circumvent this by allowing these ASL pilots to resign from ASL and rejoin CX as junior employees. There are some contractual issues to be dealt with. Effectively CX would be recruiting direct entry captains which is not allowed within our CoS."
Hate to burst your bubble Numero C. But this has already happened. Checkout two chaps at the bottom of the seniority list. They quit ASL and joined CX with the seat intact effectively as DEC's (maybe CX classified it as Rapid Command). The rest of the gang will join on Jan 1 2008.