Originally Posted by Airway

If you think they should just hire the most qualified candidates, you're going to have to define qualified. Otherwise, they'd start with the pilots with 30,000 hours, and work their way down.

Should United hire all the 20,000+ hour candidates first? I'm guessing you'll say no, because they are likely at a point in their career where they won't want to move on anyways, and if they do, only have a limited amount of time left. OK, but they are very qualified, right?

How about the 2,000 hr Navy F-16 IP with combat experience vs a 6,000 hr RJ FO with multiple type ratings? Or the 15,000 hr pilot vs the 10,000 hr pilot? Is one really more qualified than the other? Where are you drawing the line?

United already knows from the applications who can probably pass training. The ones with solid training histories and good records are available by the thousands. A 6,000 hr pilot with a solid background will do just as well at United, and be just as safe, as the 15,000 hr pilot, wouldn't you agree? The legacies know that. Once they've got that pile sorted, they're looking for who is going to represent United the best, and be the least pain in the neck over the course of their career.

Meeting individual candidates is the next best thing before an interview to assess that. Let's face it, most people aren't going to go to multiple job fairs and fly half way across the country, (or to Guam) to do a meet and greet unless they are very ambitious about working at the airline. Why should that ambition matter? Because chances are, if the candidate has a solid background, enough time, and willing to jump through that many hoops to get there, that work ethic will very likely continue at United.