Boiler,

I understand the philosophy: keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed....That being said, given the upcoming retirements I think there is a better chance of the majors hiring like crazy, than anything close to what we've seen in the last ten years.

I can't tell the future, bizarre things happen, but as a betting man (aren't we all in this business??) I'd be willing to wager that (non-legacy or well connected) regional FOs will be getting interviews at the majors before 2020, even with a bad economy, terrorist event, you name it. Just too many seats coming open and not enough guys to fill them