Originally Posted by
NAVIG8R
I'm in the guard. We have the same flight requirements as our active duty brethren and are at work far less and still hacking the mish just as well or better all while juggling full-time flying and non-flying gigs. The same principle could be applied to airlines. Just because it is not currently done that way doesn't mean it couldn't be.
Mil does for a different reason: surge capacity when they need it. And you can't say no.
Economically, it is not ideal for airlines since they have to pay for the same recurrent training for part-timers. Lack of benefits would offset that some, but proably not all of it.
They might do it to enhance pilot staffing IF they thought there was an adequate pool of wanna-be part-time pilots waiting in the wings out there. There are some to be sure, but I'm not sure there's enough to make it worth while.