Hopefully there will be a boom however the majors still haven't recovered from 9-11 yet. They never really hired a whole lot of pilots during the last few years. SWA hired a few, UAL and NWA grabbed some but really there was no big surge of hiring at the majors. As far as I know AA did not hire any new pilots at all.

Everyone is holding out for salvation by being hired at a major however In order to make a difference in the lives of most line pilots the majors need to collectively hire a huge amount in order for the average line guy to have much of a chance. The majors really do not hire that many pilots anymore.

As such it seems more likely that the majors will continue to constrict as one or more major airlines succumbs to the economy. Career salvation I think lies elsewhere. There may be a boom in 2012 however it seems to me that it will come from disillusioned regional pilots who will be able to find employment outside of aviation by then.

However I think that there is a lot of merit to the idea that a shutdown on pilot training credit will result in a reduction in the number of new career entrants. It will be interesting to see what effect that has on the future.

SKyhigh