I fly for easyJet.
This recruitment is to replace FO's due to attrition and to cover the expansion forecast from now until 2014.
We are looking for 200 FO's with this drive and the target is summer 2014 operation.
They are forecasting 50 commands for this year and possibly 100 for the next so that's 3 quarters of the required allotment, the other 50 is probably attrition.
As for experience levels lowering across all seats, it was true to an extent in the RHS with guys coming from CTC and PARC with the minimum 250 hours. In the LHS however the time to command has risen considerably so the guys getting upgraded now have more experience on type than their counterparts had 5 or so years ago when they upgraded.