The official line from easyJet is that you have to produce 2 'above average' LPC/OPC performances to be selected for command. I am a recent captain at easyJet and despite any rumours you may hear to the contrary, the CTC guys who do the training were pretty good and the line training provided by easyJet was first class. Like every company they are not perfect but my experience is that they are a great outfit to work for and I can really recommend them.
The snag at the moment is that they have effectively stopped recruiting anyone at the moment. They are still holding loads of recruitment days but no one is being offered a job - they are all being put in a 'holding pool' pending a decision on what to do next. In the past they had countless jobs for everyone they took but that is not the case now. The last figure I heard was that they had over-recruited by 170 pilots but I am not a recruiter and cannot confirm that. The basic problem is that although there are stacks of Airbuses coming, they will effectively be used to replace old 737-300s and there is no real expansion going on beyond what has already been stated.
Since the Berlin and Dortmund bases were announced (they are in the process of filling-up these posts from people already in the system), the only bases to come up are Paris and Stansted - both of which are current 737 bases. The general feeling is that there is a pregnant pause in place while the powers at be decide where, if anywhere, to expand next. Eastern Europe looked favourite and easyJet sent out requests for tenders from over 80 airports with a view to starting operations. For whatever reason there has been nothing said publicly about this for some time but nonetheless many command courses are being handed out to 'suitable' candidates.
I am hoping that someone, somewhere has the big picture on the plan but it is certainly not being shared with the pilots. From where I sit it seems that the big expansion is at best on hold but maybe someone has more insight than I do. At the moment I would be vary wary of jumping ship from a good company in the hope of an early command. If the expansion stops then there will very quickly be a lot of first class guys/gals with the hours who have worked for easyJet a long time and they will undertandably be demanding the first bite of the cherry. In terms of how the company is doing, it all seems pretty good. Nearly every flight seems to carry 125 pax plus and in many cases a lot more (156 seats on our Airbuses). If you have any further queries just e-mail me.