Fat dog, you made me laugh there. Nice one!
Your judgement based on 7 pilots. Indisputable!
Up to the end Dec there were approximately 140 new joiners and of those 39 went to the jumbo. That was to plug the hole opened by the returning 744 from the desert. Now they have returned and the hole filled I wouldn't count on there being many more. Also I believe that all courses running Jan-Mar are all SH. With the odd exception maybe for the 76.
Whether I am correct or not is irrelevant; the point being made is that forcing the 34 PP on the new joiners only does not in any way solve the 'short haul' problem. By the time real savings are being made on the new joiners salaries (e.g. after 10 years), guess what, they won't be on short haul (unless by their choice).