A Very Civil Pilot,
You may be surprised to hear that Jo in recruitment has given a figure of 4000 applicants to several of my mates. Now whether that includes all the people that have since moved on, is anyone's guess.
I've had my application in for 5 years and also received the email from Flybe about CTC. I hope you are correct though and that there is truly a shortage of applicants. I'm not holding my breath though.
Does your company accept non rated? Cheeky request for a PM most welcome!
Mo