Is it Ben who gets the 6 off the island, rather than the freighter folks?

Naomi's boss goes to Hurley in a flash-forward and asks him about the rest of the survivors. If his people can get to the island and in fact, if they have rescued the 6...why would he bother Hurley with those questions?

I think the Losties will discover that the freighter folks are not saviors. Ben will use this to implement a plan. I think he'll make a deal with them by promising them passage off the island if they help protect the island from the bad guys.

How the 6 are determined...I don't know. Perhaps that is the deal, only 6 people will Ben let off the island. Perhaps it's simpler than that....only 6 people fit in a boat...or on a helicopter. I would guess that it is possible that Locke will play a role somehow, resulting in only 6 people escaping the island...as Hurley told Jack in a flash-forward that he regretted going with Locke.

Anyway, the deal involves lying...to protect the island I'm sure, which is Ben's number one concern. The deal involves Sayid "selling his soul to the devil."

Long story short, Ben gets help from the Losties to defeat the freighter folks, and then he gets 6 of them off the island in return...with the stipulation that they must lie about everything while Sayid must do Ben's dirty work to eliminate further threats to the island.

Not a bad idea at all- and why not the helicopter, piloted by the friendly Frank (who apparently is a "conspiracy nut" and as such would probably be rooting for the "little man", which in this case would make him help the islanders)?

They've already established that with little fuel, the helicopter can only go to the freighter with 3 people, no? A full tank could maybe take 6 people someplace else- say, to a boat sent off by Penny "with enough money and determination" Widmore?

Since this season started I decided that I think Ben is responsible for the O6 leaving the island. He may allow Desmond and Juliet to leave as well, but they weren't marooned there so they aren't famous.

Personally I think Abaddon was asking Hugo about his crew, not the survivors. He was adamant with Naomi that there were no survivors of 815. Even though we know the world finds out there are some, I still think he only cares about the Freighties and that is who he asked about.

How the 6 are determined...I don't know. Perhaps that is the deal, only 6 people will Ben let off the island. Perhaps it's simpler than that....only 6 people fit in a boat...or on a helicopter.

Makes sense. But here is what bothers me with the eventual rescue. If is it a boat or helicopter, where would survivors get either one of those?

And if Ben is with them, why wasn't he on the manifest? (I guess he could assume someone else's identity - but that might be tricky considering the huge amount of publicity the O6 received)

Also, I seem to remember someone saying that the little boat would not survive on the open seas. (the night Walt was taken from the raft)

So, it seems to me that "somehow" the O6 have to be people on the manifest so that the island stays a secret. And I don't see how they can explain the small boat or the helicopter. It's possible, but a stretch

Good thinking. I also think Ben is behind it. There is actually a good thread on this very subject in the General Theories (non-spoiler section) started by JacopoBelbo:
http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=90170

roger work man, this theory isn't indicating Ben was on the manifest of the original flight or is part of the "Oceanic 6"...just that he is responsible for getting them off the island.

No, I don't think Ben would need to pass himself off as a passenger. I think he wins...and can go to and from the island as he wishes. He wouldn't last a day in the real world if he were one of the oceanic 6. Whoever the freighter people work for would have had him killed by now or something.