Having taught at both small FBOs and a large 141 university program (my screen name should be a clue to which one) I had the oppurtunity to make some obervations. It seems that when it comes to large university programs, a certain amount of it is politics and connections between the university and the airlines. But what seems to be more important than connections is reputation. Thats how new connections are greated. Its not someone cold-calling the airlines, telling them to hire their grads (so remember that and don't walk into an airline with a chip on your shoulder just because you came from a university program). Airlines who have hired past grads from university programs and had success training them and having them on line will tend to remember that and recognize that trend. In addition, the airlines can have some say in how the university programs train students, helping to make the transition to the airline world easier and making it possible to lower minmums for hiring. Basically what it comes down to is this: with pilots coming from a university program the airlines are getting a known quantity. Because there are so many FBOs out there and the quality of training varies greatly, its harder to lower those requirements for hire and still expect a high degree of success when moving into the airline world.

As far as airlines travelling to universities to interview, it just makes economic sense. It is far cheaper to fly 3 or 4 people out to interview 30 or 40 people than it is to do the opposite. Especially when the university encourages such visits by offering to pay for hotels and meals.