Any returning pilots should keep their foot in the door at whatever they were doing, come to class and get a feel for what is going on before they leave what they are doing now.
The airlines that have taken back UAL pilots in the past learned their lessons. Their elitist, snobbish attitudes don't fit in at the LCC's. Once the door is closed, they are not getting back in. They have cost airlines on the financial edge thousands in training costs and have brought very little to the table. The LCC's realized they need pilots with great attitudes that want to help the airline and increast moral. Not bogarts.