SWA 737 type and P-F-T
P-F-T is an employment issue only. You can apply a two-prong test when analyzing a possible P-F-T program:
1. If a company hires you but as a condition of employment requires you to pay for its training of you to do its work, it is P-F-T.
2. If, after considering No. 1, the training provided is esoteric to that company only and does not lead to a certificate, rating or operating privilege which is acceptable outside the company and can be marketed elsewhere, it is P-F-T.
Prong No. 1 is the primary test of P-F-T.
After applying this test, the B737 requirement at Southwest is not P-F-T. Yes, Southwest requires you to possess a 737 type to be considered for pilot employment, but does not require you to pay for its FAA-required initial line training of you as a condition of hire. Therefore, SWA, and its 737 hiring requirement, is not P-F-T.
Someone above summed it up the best; a 737 type earned at another company at its expense fulfills this Southwest Airlines hiring qualification. Although many people buy 737 types because they want to work at Southwest, that comment alone negates any assertion that the 737 type rating requirement at Southwest is P-F-T.