Applicant A: 2000 Turbine PIC
B-737 Type Rating
College degree

Applicant B: 300 hrs SEL
Highschool GED

Who are you going to choose? How many applicants do you think there are for the annual +/- 600 jobs. SWA would have to quadruple the pilot hiring dept just to accomodate all the applicants that are FAA qualified to be in the right seat of a part 121 carrier. I believe that by acquiring a 737 type, just as a college degree, makes you as an applicant more attractive. I do agree though that it is wrong to offer a job with a condition of getting a type. One should become as marketable as possible and then go for the job. Once the company has offered the job, it should be without condition. I don't know the validity of the following, but I've heard that we pay much lower insurrance rates due to the fact that All SWA pilots are type rated. This probably is the best explanation as nobody starts class without one. The process has worked for a long time. With the vast volume of applicants out there, I think they should go back to making it an application requirement. The current process came about in the late 90's when the applicant pool was drying up. Prior to that, you had to have the type to apply. No doubt that if it has something to do with SWA, then it has something to do with economics. Anyone out there heard the insurrance explanation? ....Corl...anyone?