Originally Posted by FleetSnarl

People smarter than me have pointed out that SWA specializes in "desperation hiring". That is, they hire people who will subsequently feel a debt of gratitude toward SWA for rescuing them from whatever not-so-great circumstance: they were furloughed, they were at a sh***y regional, they were at a cr***y cargo or foreign carrier, they were military and sick of career worries and TDY's. The ab initio program is simply a version of that. They take a "zero" and over the course of a few years full of marination in SWA culture (assigned a pilot mentor, jumpseat rides, regular visits to DAL), they become a "hero" SWA pilot.