Re: QANTAS minimum hours.
Who knows what will happen recruitment wise. 2005 was pretty solid with about 100 new people I think. However, with the advent of Jetstar International, most of the growth is going there so I can't see mainline needing a lot more pilots due to new aircraft. At the very least, 4 A330's are going to Jetstar later this year, and it will be another couple of years before the A380's have a significant number of aircraft. I cannot see the Classic hanging on past then, so at the end of the day, there may be no net aircraft growth. Perhaps even contraction.
The biggest hurdle is also the proposed new retirement age of 65 which is rumoured to come in some time later this year. If that happens, expect very few retirements for the next 5 years. This will have a major influence on recruitment plans.