The pool is certainly not empty. At the moment the only airline taking from the ATP pool is easyJet.
easyJet require all ATP Pool candidates to undergo their full selection day. Due to the nature of selection and some are failing some are passing, thats just the way it goes. There is then a 'pool within the pool' for easyJet at CTC.
With 40 or so experienced guys going to easy via TRSS a month there are a few that pull out last minute. Cue the ATP Pool candidate who bridges this last minute gap.
easyJet have also got the first influx of CTC-McAlpine cadets coming through. There are also quite a few CTC McAlpine cadets that have not been assigned to an airline and will go into the ATP pool once they have completed their training so in terms of the pool being empty, I am sure there is a reason for this. Reason being it is going to fill up nicely with Ab-Initio Cadets very soon.
In terms of airlines pulling out, I have no idea on this. Monarch emptied the pool in Feb and seem to use CTC for all their low houred pilots. I have not heard that any airline has pulled out, but then this is a rumour forum, lets not forget that.
Speaking to a flight crew manager last week he said they were very happy with CTC indeed simply because it took the risk away from them until such time they were happy with said pilots performance and were then willing to pay for his training. Albeit a bit more than normal, but then they have hedged their bets on this guy/girls failing. I know there is a captain from Monarch where Send Clowns works so Imagine that is were he is getting his info from, and a CTC guy from Monarch had a tail-strike a few weeks ago. Bear that in mind. Only a fool would believe every guy that comes out of CTC was top drawer, far from it. But FACT airlines keep coming back. easyJet charge pilots for their TRSS and they pay for CTC ATP guys.....
You will hear many on here saying 'CTC are a ripoff...' 'Conartists' etc etc I challenge you to find the majority of 'cadets' who feels they were ripped off by them.
The fact of the matter is with 160-250 hours you go straight onto a jet, they dont recruit for any TP operators, and after 6 months on 1k a month (thats how you pay for your Type Rating in essence) you go straight on full salary and a full time position. You 'save' 3-4 years on turboprops on 20k a year. As well as all those on £10 an hour instructing just to get on a TurbProp. All that time you are on nearer 40k-50k. The catch is if you go on Turboprops you wont be able to get onto a jet with less than 3-4 years experience so you are 'stuck' down that route. Please note I am not belittling TP drivers one iota, for older guys this is a big consideration as to whether they will ever get on a jet past a certain age and CTC allows them this opportunity as well as younger guys looking for their first big break.
There are companies charging upwards of 50k for a Type Rating and 300 hours line training and have people cuing up, yet we never hear about them.
Nature of the beast there will always be more pilots than jobs, and with any scheme there will be people that fail it. CTC are starting to become quite a force and naturally there will be those that despise the place. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I would suggest you actually try to speak to people that have done it and those that have failed it, you will soon get a better idea rather than an anonymous forum where people can get in slanging matches from the comfort of their own armchair without having to look each other in the eye. I would imagine things would be a lot more civil and you would get more answers by actually speaking to people rather than on here. Certainly dont base your decision on it!
At the end of the day 4.5k is not bad for a jet job is it?