On One Pompino owners...

The holes are there to alleviate issues of air expansion during frame construction surely.

No, when the frame is being made the massive holes you screw the bb into, headset holes ect are all holes still. Air doesn't expand like crazy or anything anyways.

Looks like I'll be extracting the plugs this weekend. Still virtually in tears at the thought of a drill bit contacting my frame.

Why don't they put a hole in the BB shell in the first place? I know some manufacturers do, but they are in the minority.

It takes time/money and making your frame last longer might put you off upgrading/renewing.