The type rating...you know SWA has that requirement for insurance purposes...Part of the deal is they need to hire 737 typed pilots...by doing this they will save a bunch of money on their insurance. I am not 100% sure about this but I believe it has been documented to say that. Overall the applicant and new hire, in turn, is probably more experienced than average. CAL has hired guys without a single hour of PIC turbine. Has that made Cal unsafer? no...does it matter? no...but I bet to insurance companies and attorneys it does. By having this requirement SWA has gone past that and in turn saved money. So if an applicant already has the type, well that means they are ready now...and thats what they need. The day they run out of 737 type rated applicants then the scene might change...but I doubt it. Also, they have turned down a gargantuous amount of 737 type rated pilots...so this also disapproves what you are saying. If that was the case then they would not hire or interview a single applicant that did not have a type. They are hiring guys without types you know...in fact, turning down guys with types over guys without types. Having a type means nothing...except in their eyes you are ready now. Look at it like this...right now it is taking about 3 months from day one of the pool to class date. That is plenty of time to get a type if hired. It's a choice we make...if a pilot goes into the interview with a type, then maybe it does show dedication to SWA...but it's a choice this pilot made...not SWA. If you have the goods they will still hire you. It's more competitive to get the interview without the type...but that's the choice each person individually makes...not SWA.
You're probably correct about the insurance thing, but you aren't addressing my question.
How does requiring a 737 type rating help the PD identify those who possess a "warrior spirit, a servant heart, and a fun luving attitude"?
OBTW, I can find a couple of thousand if not ten thousand pilots with legitimate 121PIC time in aircraft similar to the fluf. Do you believe that one of them is somehow less qualified to be an SWA newhire than a 135Metroliner pilot who just bought his 737 rating and has never flown 121?