You are correct, they can put out an AE anytime, and they can limit the number of positions on it. And you are also correct about being overstaffed (561 SILs in July!!!). My first point is that I think new hire classes won’t be rescheduled until after the big AE (if it is another 365 MOAB) because the real bottleneck for new hires will be sim time, and when you are going gangbusters to eliminate a category, haven’t received aircraft you thought you’d have already (“A200s” and possibly A320s to a lesser degree), then the priority has to be the pilots on property that are going to get paid a lot to do very little. No point in bringing newbs on property and start their one year pay clock, etc. when they may sit for a while just to enter training.

My point about the 365 AE is that if you’re granted a position on that bid, how long does the company have to send you to training? Now compare that with smaller AEs. I don’t believe the company can offer that same position and training again, notionally to a new hire, until they’ve cleared the training from the previous small AE. With a 365, you might be awarded a position, but attend training anytime the company feels it’s convenient, while still bringing in new hires to that category, and possibly training them before you. It may not make sense to us, but it might to someone that stares at spreadsheets all day for a job.