Look at how many non-military and non-flow Pilots AA is hiring, and then look at the number of these guys are coming from the AA WO outside of the flow. Maybe 1 or 2 per class. Maybe.
We have sent several pilots outside of the flow to AA, and I know that Envoy has as well. Several were Chief Pilots or Recruiters, and most were LCAs. Statistically, you have a better chance of getting hired by AA outside of the flow while working at a WO than off of the street.
If you go elsewhere (non-military) your chance of getting hired by AA is less than 1%.
If you go to a WO, your chance of getting to AA is almost 100%.
As times get tougher, AA will still need their WO more than ever. They will need them staffed. One way of doing this is to guarantee a mainline job. If they stopped that, no one would go to a WO.
Expect flow to increase as times get tougher, not decrease. The WO will lose a certain number of pilots every month. They will either go to AA, or they will go to another Major. If flow slows, attrition will stay the same, but AA will lose that many more pilots from the system. That would not be beneficial.