I think that this just highlights the fact that there's a lot of luck involved, particularly when recruiting is slow and sporadic, as now. Most airline recruiting 'departments' (one bod in his/her spare time) are rarely looking for more than a handful of people, yet their in-trays have hundreds of CVs in them! Whether it's fair or not, is it any wonder if the lucky ones are those at the top of the pile?
Once an ops dept has decided it needs, say, 6 new pilots, the 'recruiting dept' (that single bod, remember) will arrange to interview, say, 15 pilots whose CVs suggest that they are qualified for the job. There may well be 500 qualified applicants in the pile, but no airline is going to interview 500 to select 6! This costs money! Don't forget that for these interviews, the 'recruiting dept' (one person, don't forget, with other jobs as well) will have to co-ordinate the candidates, the interviewers and the paperwork, arrange accommodation perhaps, organise exams, and all sorts of other details that you're probably not interested in. This is not going to happen any more than it has to!
As for your bizarre suggestion that a free-for-all would force down pilots salaries,
Peter Davidson, how do you work that out? The airlines are already well aware that they are in a buyer's market, and don't need to interview hundreds of candidates to prove it. Most airlines' terms and conditions are a very complex agreement with the airline Crew Committee, or Union representatives, and will not be changed by a number of individuals offering to work for less than the agreed rates. In fact, those individuals could well find themselves ostracized by the entire industry, both employees and employers! No-one likes a prostitute.
Scroggs
Virgin/Wannabes Moderator
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