It seems likely that the Continental side will need to hire off the street this fall based on the number of vacancies in the latest system bid. The acceptance rate is about 1 to 6 among the UAL pilots being offered the Continental job. They will likely have gone through the entire list by early fall.

Keep in mind that this senario would change if the company reached a JCBA with the pilot group(I hear rumors that the pace of negotiations is picking up and others saying don't plan of seeing a contract for years, so who knows). The acceptance rate for an actual recall to UAL will be much higher, and the company will have to offer recalls as opposed to hiring once the operation is combined.

Also be aware that if you are picked up as a new hire in the fall, you will have the UAL furloughees ahead of you on the combined senority list, and they have 10 yr recall rights from the date of furlough. You could be close to the bottom for a while as they work their way back in.