Another 'unknown' is what the company might be planning with regards to parking more of the older aircraft, in the coming few years.

As long as we hire 450ish, we are keeping up with retirements and keeping the training pipeline primed.
It's been quoted that K wanted more/better utilization of aircraft and crews.
So its possible to actually grow the airline without actually adding tons of planes and pilots.

I still smile when I think about people believing that we were going to have 14000-16000-18000 pilots in the coming years.

Sometimes slow & steady does win the race.

As far as summer 2018 is concerned, 8 months away. They can always get a few extra classes of 40's going in the spring that would cover any crazy growth.

Motch