The first class of new hires (if you want to call them that) were some of the ground instructors (ATI's i think). how many hours could they actually have if they were teaching ground school for the last few years. I heard a couple went their just after college. just what i was told from a friend who went to school with one of them.

I dont know but we had a previous ATI in my class who ended up leaving his ATI position so he could build his time up to get hired. He went a flew 747s for a couple years then got hired. So i dont know what the people your talking about had as far as time goes but this guy has thousands of hours and lots of heavy international time.FWIW

The ground school instructors do not get breaks on the required mins. They have to apply, and interview for a pilot position just like a guy off the street. There are many ATI's who do not meet the mins for NWA, which is why they have to go get a flying job if they want to move on.