Thanks guys for those interesting comments.
From my limited knowledge as a wannabe it does seem that the airlines have been cut to the bone for far too long now and that something has to give. I suspect there will be a glut of jobs going in the near future, but as has been pointed out here, the timescale and the opportunity will be brief. Of course one slight blip in world events would wipe out any recruitment drive overnight.
I am assuming from the comments made above, that it won't be long before the airlines begin to lower their recruitment criteria.
With the unfortunate trend towards buying your own type rating, the comments by Scroggs suggests that the airlines will have to bite the bullet and put guys through the courses which has to be a positive for those of us with large loans already.
Having read the threads on this site for a while now it does appear that T&C's have been severely eroded in recent times. Let's hope this is an opportunity to restore the balance a little.
NH