Originally Posted by AirbornPegasus

There must be something in the works for the number to jump that much. The word is that most of the hiring will be on the Republic side, which probably means either greater Q growth or the AA deal for 175's is coming into focus. If true, the guys getting in now will be half way up the FO seniority list in a year.

This could be just recruiting propaganda, but in their investor call the other day BB mentioned "the increased amount of RFP activity we are seeing from our partners".