I'm not sure that a type rating *is* such an advantage these days. I hear talk that Ryanair actually don't want experienced or type rated people. They would prefer to take someone who pays for their own rating, on a training contract, who then enters the airline (if they pass) on a much reduced salary for a number of years, with not enough time to get into the right hand seat for a while.
In such rapidly expanding airlines there are large numbers of FOs close to command hours who kick up a terrible fuss about hiring new people direct to the LHS or close to it. Hence its less strife to get cadets in.
Such cadets can be signed up in such a fashion that they actually DO pay for their training either out of their own pocket up front or via reduced salaries for - say - 7 years.
You keep your current FO's happy, you get to train cadets in your way and your way only, they pay for it, they are effectively bonded for a long time for doing it and you can send them anywhere in the empire at your whim. Much better than recruiting in experienced crews who have flown elsewhere and want x base on y type with z months to command assesment.
Once you have a large training department - largely outsourced and sub contracted - who run 364 days a year then its not such a big, difficult or distracting business to chuck a few more cadet courses into the sims.
Its certainly a funny old game,
Cheers
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