Lots of applicants? Sure, plenty on the books, but in about two weeks there is virtually NO-ONE in the pool with the required experience.
This is NOT rumour. It's a fact. (don't ask for the source, I would not divulge it!) Recruitment is in as much crisis as training, fleet, and just about every other department in the cmpany. Will anything be done about it before the end of the financial year?...not a hope, because of course nothing extra will be spent from individual budgets for fear of a loss of profit share for those cost centre managers who benefit most from the profit scheme.
What will probably happen is the hours requirement (or at least the specific breakdown of those hours) will change again to qualify a few more people within existing applicants.
One of the problems recruitment now have is people "in the pool" are simply not prepared to take such a lot of time of work from their existing employer (at short notice)to come all the way to Dubai for a 43% chance of passing the recruitment interview. Lots of innovative ideas being considered in recruitment to try to solve that problem. One of the many problems they have, is convincing propective FOs that staying on first year salaries for three or four years is a great idea..perhaps they need to bring back the step scheme now that the company is swimming in money.