Guys,
Easyjet aren't the only airline that take CTC hold pool pilots. I would disagree with Morning Glory who stated;
Flipside of that of course is that the CTC associated airlines are of the 'low cost' persuasion, the ones that are apparently 'booming' at the moment.
Monarch and jmc are not of the low cost persuasion and have taken cadets in the past, amongst others. The market is still very depressed for low hours guys. Pilots with much more experience are finding places with various carriers and it all comes down to supply and demand. jmc only rescinded the last of their redundancies in September and went into the winter with something like 5 pilots over establishment. Why would they currently be looking for anyone from the hold pool at CTC? I don't know about Monarch but I would guess they are also currently fully established for the winter season. Most other airlines are still licking their wounds post 9/11.
Easyjet are constantly recruiting and take quite a cross section of experience levels. It's just timing. Things will pick up and movement will take place and guys in the hold pool will get picked up at some point. I have a pal who was in it for a year before getting jmc, and that was a couple of years ago when expansion was still happenning.
If you're not in the pool you won't get placed. If you are good enough it's another opportunity and a great one at that. Airlines like jmc love low hours guys - they even out the demograph and aren't banging on the Chief Pilot's door within a year asking for a command that is at least 7 years away. They also like the CTC scheme where someone else(CTC) take the risk of failure. When I did my 757 course (run by CTC but not as a cadet with them) 2 guys out of 5 on the 757 course failed. That cost CTC not the airlines they were destined for. I understand that they reviewed their selection procedure after that as they blamed themselves rather than the cadets. So yes, the selection is tough, but so is getting a job outside of any scheme and you have to put in 110% to pass. This course however, gives you a huge leg up in the industry if you are successful. Whatever the rights and wrongs of it I reckon you gain about 5 years on an average self improver, and that's flying jets and eventually earning a jet salary.
Just be realistic about the market for a pilot with 200hrs and it will all fall into perspective. That perspective must look a lot better from within their hold pool.
Good luck.
PP