I am green behind the ears when it comes to aviation but travel very often in my job and must say that aircraft these days fly with about 30-40% of max capacity. Had a few flights to the USA and around Europe and it is always the same (would say max 50%).
But airlines know that some people will always fly and some train to be pilots.
Whilst studying ATPL theory, I met 2 guys who had a big inheritance and paying for CPLs and type ratings is easy for them. They would invest 150k or more but also get jobs more easily and soon recover the investment and enjoy the lifestyle.
For the rest of us, it is a mix of lottery and hard work. Guess, the best we can do is to keep informed through magazines, contacts and forums like this and try to be in the right place at the right time.
What chance would 40 year old CPL/IR/ME stand against 25 year old type rated with 500 hours airline flying?
Someone mentioned MPL earlier which will be done by OAA and Easy, I dread to think how much is that going to cost?
Even if you go for it, do you get 6 months contract with Easy at the end and then end up being elbowed out after 6 months as new batch of wannabes are coming in?
Anyone happens to know who are the masterminds behind these clever schemes?