Originally Posted by TheWeatherman

There was some talk about slowing down hiring, but they are not doing that at this time. They are planning years in advance and know the retirements both internally and at the Majors are coming. Plus there are big plans to expand, both organically and possibly through acquisitions (they will not do a merger). The order for 100 new aircraft will be additional aircrraft to our current fleet and will NOT be used to replace older aircraft. There is an option on the order for more planes, that will be used to replace older aircraft and possibly more growth, but that won't be until the mid 2020s. So in 5 years Republic's fleet could be 100 aircraft higher. That will take a lot more pilots then we currently have.