Alas, where are these golden thrones? how much total time will you have before getting 500 cross country? via instructing, ill be at 1500tt long before getting the 500cc

Ryanair does a lot of hiring in eastern Europe - like, a LOT. Take that for what you will.

EDIT: Yup, note the names further on in the article - "Miss June's Magda", "Miss October's Jaroslava", etc.

December 13, 2007 "W" signed the age 65 rule into effect. Just after that the economy took a nose dive. These 2 things have made for an over supply of airline pilots and pilots in general. However, these pilots will not be able to fill the void that will be headed our way. Flight schools are shutting their doors everyday. Stack on top of that, HR 3371 U.S. House Passes Airline Safety Bill Aviation Buzz I think in the next 4 years, IF the airlines run at the same capacity many airline hiring departments could have a proverbial $hit storm on their hands...

Did you read the whole article? It was talking about ab-initio and the MPL (multi-crew pilots license) being the norm for the future of their airlines. 0 time to the line.....I have a feeling that this could be a very likely scenario for U.S. airlines, sooner than we think.

There is always good argument on both sides about an upcoming, prolonged, shortage. I have been hearing these arguments since I started the whole thing in the late 90s. But, there has always been something stopping or preventing it. Twice now, a potential long-term shortage has started but then stopped from other factors.

The arguments for a future shortage is sound. However, have you taken into account new external factors that are yet unforeseen? I would very much like to see the shortage a reality. However, the realist/pessimist in me says something will get in the way again.

Don't discount airline managers. Though we may not agree with the greed/self-serving underlying most of their decisions it does not make them stupid. The airline lobby might yet find another 'solution' to a shortage. Or perhaps as the economy returns and airlines start to recover oil will shoot up again. And then airlines might just consolidate capacity into larger but fewer airplanes.

Also, don't forget about TSA's fervent efforts to chase our passengers away. And the effort of the government to get high speed rail going. I don't think there will be a return of demand for air travel. A recovery yes, but not a return.

Very good point, we have no idea what is coming down the pipe for us. Like I said in my previous post "IF" the airlines are able to run at the same capacity I could see things going the way of those speculators some 13 years ago. You are right about the fact that it is hard to be optimistic about the airlines moving in a good direction. But, Hopefully "IF" the the airlines do face a shortage, they will be forced to pay pilots what they deserve and treat them like professionals.

And yes, I do realize that starting a sentence with "hopefully the airlines will" and ending it with something optimistic about the well being of the pilot community, I am setting myself up for disappoint..... But! I'm throwing it out there anyway.