Personally, I think that Rinoa survived for two reasons. For one--as I recall--Squall managed to make her 'hear' him, though whether that was because of their bond, because of Ellone's power, or because of Rinoa's abilities, I don't recall. I think that, because of this, Rinoa's Sorceress powers sort of 'kicked in' subconsciously--as they tend to do in Angel Wing. The Sorceress power, especially that of powerful Sorceresses, can do just about anything, so conjuring some viable air until Squall could reach her is certainly within its bounds, even if she doesn't have the skill to do so intentionally.

As for Time Compression, I'm pretty much with Sir Bahamut--and I'd assert that if Squall was closer than most people could survive to death, the combination of Squall and Rinoa's bond and Rinoa's untapped powers could have revived him. Of course, I like to think that Ultimecia didn't destroy /all/ of the other Sorceresses in her time, but that one's just something I like, not something I have much basis for.