I know a guy that went from zero time to multi commercial certificate in 3 months. The game will change; there will no longer be ma and pop flight schools but instead pilot factories that turn out pilots in mere months. You'll still have to get your 1500 hrs though.
Many seem to keep stating that a new pilot will have to pay for all this flight time or that there will be pilot factories pumping out guys. Even if student pilots paid for this flight time, which would be nearly impossible to do, it would take 1.5+ years if you flew 3 hours a day everyday.
What ever happened to working to gain your experience and flight time? After I got my commercial rating I started to flight instruct. I was in college at the time and built over 1900+ hours of instruction. By the time I was hired at a regional when I graduated college, I had 2300+ hours which included 275+ hours of multi time. It doesn't hurt to earn your keep.
Some may argue that the pilot training group will dry up with no one having the money or time to dedicate to the "new" airline requirements. I disagree. Nearly all my students were middle aged adults who just wanted to learn to fly for fun. Not everyone who learns to fly wants to be an airline pilot.
Some argue that flying around a traffic pattern or flying holds with students for hours is pointless. I fully disagree. Those hours of instruction help teach you to think ahead, anticipate moves, solve problems, and to be a leader in the flightdeck (even in a 172). While instructing I had in-flight emergencies from smoke in the cockpit, radios failures, gear collapsing on landing, etc.; I saw things, was challenged and had to think quickly. It's what helps shape you and prepare you for an airline job.
And by the way, my first job paid 17k a year and I did pay for my ATP.