right... musent forget the upgrades indeed.... I recall them saying that "inter-island bookings were down into 2013" recently though which could also account for less need for 717 FO's and crews in general..

For the new hires, if you get the choice, my advise from what I've seen out there talking to others who've done training recently is if this will be your first "Jet" and you get any say in it, try to get the 717 first... it's a lot to take on learning to fly swept wing jet, a "heavy" and international ops all at once for many, and IOE has weeded out some in the recent past, or made others sweat bullets.

My class we had a gal with no prior jet experience and she smartly bid the 717 and is doing great on it, she'll be in much better shape when she goes to the 76 or A330 down the road. Her uncle who is also a check airman on the 767 told her it was a smart choice.