There are always exceptions to the rule. At all the carriers there have been people that have been hired that knew no one, but they fit a "perfect" profile for that place and got an invite. This is not many that get that, but some do. There are also some that get the random luck of the draw pick as well, but again not the majority.

At obap, DAL handed out the disclaimer and stated that airline apps is where it is all at and not the convention - specifically stated. Also, DAL reps stated due to their legal department they were required to shred all resumes they were given. At AA they actually took our resumes and wrote a number. I figure it was a number meaning good or not so good. Wouldn't surprise me if they shredded the documents eventually, but they used those scores for something.

UAL stated they gave points for attending these events. There is no doubt it is a tough time in many ways for interview selection teams. They definitely want to hire good people. Delta seems to be the least interested in this form of networking though.