XL have had problems with the storm contracts as the guys on these disappear to Ryanair over winter, the past two winters it has caused problems with guys not flying and therefore not earning. However this has now stopped and XL have terminated the contract with Ryanair and have just lost a number of guys to said company so i'd imagine there will be some availability maybe at the end of the year, although i think there is a deal with Oxford to take a certain number of ab initio's, think this year its 8??
As for the company, personally i really like it great crews varied destinations yeah we work hard over summer but the winter is nice and quiet expect 650-700 hours a year. More a/c arriving this year and rumours of a couple of 737-900's next year or year after.