Yes very interesting times ahead.
NSF is right, the company may well be making a rod for its own back in only recruiting 200 hour cadets. Time will tell and the companies ability to sort out its internal difficulties will be key in retaining the more experienced F/Os who we will need to step up to command in the next couple of years. Bear in mind the aircraft orders tail off after 2012 and Stelios is still keen to limit expansion and pay a dividend despite sorting out the brand license issue.
Many of the F/O's have sacrificed a great deal and taken a huge risk to be with us and some of them work under pretty crappy t&c's. I for one will support them all the way in progressing to command and defend their right to have first pickings. If we passed people over in favour of external candidates it would be an outrage. That said we could run out of internal candidates and then we would need to look outside. There is also a business review occurring and recruitment may be reviewed as part of this which could lead to a policy change.
Personaly I can see clear value in taking cadets, integrating them into our operation and developing them all the way to command and beyond. They become a known product and risk is more easily managed. However for it to work easyJet need to retain them and on their current terms that could be tricky.