I'm going to have to call Baloney on this one. Nobody would offer that kind of a signing bonus, especially for a 6 month contract. Training alone takes 3 months, so that would do them no good at all.

Also, the thinking of "if they get a bonus, then we all should" is bogus. It's a signing incentive. You don't give hiring incentives to those who have already hired. That's like going out, buying a car, then 3 years later when the newer models cost less, demanding a refund because the price went down.

If they can't hire pilots with the current tools, then they must change hiring strategies. There's a lot of people hiring right now. You must sell your product, i.e. incentives to come here.