Originally Posted by
e6bpilot
Oh geez. That means we are definitely hiring.
Pilot hiring is, and always will be, a long lead time item. You can't just put an ad out and have 200 pilots on the line the next month. It takes close to 6 months to get from "we are hiring" to having a line pilot who replaces a captain who is upgrading.
That said, we still have about 500 FOs out. I think they will all be recalled by the end of the year. New hire classes start in March. Any takers?
All true, and I think March is even a bit pessimistic. Would also add that in my observations over the years, the longest-lead indicator in forecasting pilot staffing around here is flight simulators....and LEADS is most definitely over-sized currently for a 9000 pilot/700 airplane operation. That will be brought more into balance over the next year or two. In fact, I'll be back there next month and wouldn't be surprised to hear more rumors of extending the extended extension!