probably because they offered 513 SILs for July....

 

Reductions in latency during taxi has reduced block hours by 5 minutes per leg. That equates to a bunch of block hours and that means less pilots needed.

Or they got ahead on hiring.

Or increased fuel costs.

Those are the rumors I’ve heard.

 

I think they were really building up last year anticipating the C-ser...I mean A200 coming on property a lot sooner. That delivery schedule kept getting jerked around and now that it's basically not going to enter into the fleet until the end of this year means we can afford to take a break in hiring. I'd bet that if the A200s had started coming this spring then hiring maybe still would have slowed down a tad, but not stopped completely.

 

Their FB page says they are currrently over staffed but are still interviewing for future classes.

 

You don’t have to go by rumors. There is a letter dated 16 May from CR that explains exactly why.
Basically, actual flying in some catrgories changed from what the MOAB was based on. Larger categories for the 737 and A320 have allowed significant credit reductions. Pilot leaves of all types are 30% less than they staffed for.

 

The fact we have SILS means the company is actually ahead of the staffing curve in several categories. It will cost a few dollars in the short term, which is probably smarter than getting behind the hiring curve.

 

June and July classes are cancelled. I heard there is one in August.
Interviews are going on, just at slower pace.

There is a small pool, but some guys surely will go elsewhere.
Big increase in hiring in the fall.

My guess is flight ops is over budget and had to get Q2 and Q3 results looking better.

 

Over in a different thread there was a post that said the mid April interviewees that had a 9 July class date received the dreaded phone call about their class getting axed. They were told to expect September. More recent interviewees (mid/late-May were told to expect November).

The actual truth may be that until the big AE dust settles and the company figures out its internal moves (and the training that goes with it), plus makes the offer of acft and bases to existing pilots, they won’t be able to plan open positions (and training) for new hires. Resuming new hire classes in September is a real possibility, but I’m not sure how the company will still meet the goal of adding 1,000 pilots this year when they take two months off from bringing newbs on property.

One possible advantage of the 365 day AE for the company is that it may check the box of offering every position to existing pilots, giving them a free hand to throw anything available to new hires without worry of a grievance from senior pilots, “may” being the operative word. That may enter the realm of conspiracy for some, but it may just be an easy way for offices within the company to apply an “easy” solution to the hard problem of lots of moving pieces and parts.

 

The company can put out a AE at any time to create openings for new hires. We are slowing hiring because we have to many pilots.

 

You are correct, they can put out an AE anytime, and they can limit the number of positions on it. And you are also correct about being overstaffed (561 SILs in July!!!). My first point is that I think new hire classes won’t be rescheduled until after the big AE (if it is another 365 MOAB) because the real bottleneck for new hires will be sim time, and when you are going gangbusters to eliminate a category, haven’t received aircraft you thought you’d have already (“A200s” and possibly A320s to a lesser degree), then the priority has to be the pilots on property that are going to get paid a lot to do very little. No point in bringing newbs on property and start their one year pay clock, etc. when they may sit for a while just to enter training.

My point about the 365 AE is that if you’re granted a position on that bid, how long does the company have to send you to training? Now compare that with smaller AEs. I don’t believe the company can offer that same position and training again, notionally to a new hire, until they’ve cleared the training from the previous small AE. With a 365, you might be awarded a position, but attend training anytime the company feels it’s convenient, while still bringing in new hires to that category, and possibly training them before you. It may not make sense to us, but it might to someone that stares at spreadsheets all day for a job.