Is there any hope for me with BA?

[Boeing4ever]

--This is my first post on this forum--

Hello everyone,

After endless research and numerous visits to other aviation forums on the internet, I would like to ask the pilots/people who know how things work at British Airways on PPRuNe if there is any way for me to become a pilot for them.

First, a little background on me:
I was born in the USA and grew up in the State of Florida. Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated in airplanes (especially airliners; probably because I flew between the US and Europe many times). When I was 13 years old, my parents (who are European) decided to move back to the EU because of many reasons. I now live in northern Italy, close to the Austrian border. My parents chose this area because it is a cultural mixture between my mom's native Italy and my dad's native Germany. Unfortunately, the area I live in is practically dead in regard to aviation. Because of the mountains, there is rarely a low-flying airplane around and the local airfield is only home to mountain rescue helicopters and a few Cessnas. My computer is the only way to follow my interest...

Anyway, back to the topic: Since I have flown to/from Europe many times, I have a preference in the airlines I flew with: British Airways. I have always liked their fleet, style, image and standard of service (even in economy compared to the US carriers). So naturally I want to become a pilot for them. Through research on the internet I found out about BA's 'Sponsored Pilot Training Scheme' and thought that it would be the perfect start to a career, my alternative being going back to the US after High School (I'm currently 16) and spending a fortune on all the training - besides having to have considerably more experience to join a major airline. I also found out about this forum through my research and saw a recent post about BA sponsoring, which, as it seems, has been cancelled due to 9/11. I don't know if thats really true, since the official BA website still has all of the info. about this program on it. Now to my question: Is this program likely to be cancelled forever or will BA start it again? They will have to get pilots in the future from somewhere..

Assuming they will restart it once (if) the airline industry picks up again, do I stand a chance against all of the British people looking for the same career? The only selling points I will have on my cv are being fluent in English, German and Italian and being both US and German citizen. Do BA even hire people from different countries?

One more thing I would like to know is what the British GCSEs and GCEs are, since they are stated in the requirements on the BA website. I know that they are academic titles, but on what level? High School? University? And would they accept an Italian HS diploma?

Sorry for writing so much, I guess I get carried away every time I can write something in my native English again.

Thanks in advance,
Marco

[TRon]

I think the general consensus is BA Have sponsored their last cadet in the traditional sense.

If/When theings get back to a state where they do it again, it will be a whole different beast I imagine much like the CTC-McAlpine scheme.

I have no idea as to whether they would recognise your qualifications. I dont know if they would sponsor an EU National either, especially if you werent born in the UK but then I could well be wrong.

[maxy101]

BA have sponsored EU nationals in the cadet scheme. It is against EU law to discriminate. However, I do get the impression that getting a penny out of BA in the next few years will be impossible.

[Superfly]

As Boeing4ever mentioned the Cadet sponsorship is still on BA's website. From that , one can only assume that the long term prospect is that it will happen again.
Why am I saying that ? for the very reason that some other airlines ( ie: Britannia ) have taken recently several ( at least 5) AB initios. When I asked why their reply was that ,although this scheme was costly, it would guarantee the placement of extremely well trained, superior quality pilots in their fleet. They explained also that the bottom line was that they have to deal with the future retirement of a large proportion of very experienced, senior, captains ( babyboom generation ?). They think that they will be able to bridge the gap and diminish the effects of loosing so many higly skilled captains, management pilots by placing this AB initio pilots.
Easyjet seem to believe in the same principles if you consider the flourishing CTC cadet scheme currently running . The same principles probably apply (to a lesser extent ) to the ATP scheme.
So Boeing4ever, you may have the opportunity to apply to such a scheme with BA in the future. However if I was in your shoes I wouldn't dwell on it. You can still start with your PPL or even start gliding. That will ALWAYS be a positive point and show your dedication to any company / organisation wondering if they should spend some hard cash on your head.
SF

[Penworth]

The impression I got when I was going through (well, until stage 3 anyway!) of the CTC McAlpine scheme was that BA was one of the future potential airlines who CTC were looking to bring into the scheme sometime in the future. Whether that's still on the cards or not is anybodies guess.

I doubt the BA scheme will return in the forseeable future as it was though (I'd love to be proved wrong on that!) and I suspect that the fact the details are still on their website is more down to their lack of updating the site than the fact the scheme is due to return anytime soon.

PW

[High Wing Drifter]

...BA was one of the future potential airlines who CTC were looking to bring into the scheme sometime in the future.
A fiver says that all integrated/structured modular schools name drop BA somewhere during the proceedings!

[Penworth]

fair point High Wing Drifter :ouch: I still think that's more likely than them bringing back their own ab-inito scheme as it was though. Time will tell.... ;)

[scroggs]

Marco, there is absolutely no reason why you could not be employed by BA, subject to the needs of the market. As an EU citzen, you have exactly the same rights as any British candidate in the search for employment.

Age is on your side; I would expect BA to reintroduce some kind of cadet scheme in the next two years, though it may well be considerably changed from the old scheme. Your best bet is to write to BA recruiting and get their attention now. They won't offer you a job, but they will give you the latest info that they have.

Scroggs

[Boeing4ever]

Thanks for all of your replies!

There seems to be a lot of talk about this CTC McAlpine program, but honestly I'm still not sure what it really is. I assume that it is a flight school that sponsores you like BA did and then after the training sends you to an airline that is part of their 'alliance'. Please tell me if I got that right. Do you need prior flight experience to join this program?

Superfly, I would love to get a PPL now, but the problem is that it is quite expensive here (around €10,000), besides the fact that I would really like to learn to fly airplanes in English, not Italian (Imagine all the different terminology, talking to ATC etc.). I think I will go for a glider rating though, and since I live in the Alps, there are many thermal areas in summer, so that should make for some good basic knowledge about the weather.

Studi, thanks for the link to the other thread. I never really thought of flying for Lufthansa before, it could be an alternative.. I would prefer BA, though.

Scroggs, I will write a letter to BA as you said, then they can explain why they still have their cadet program on their website. Thanks for the advice!

Lastly, I would like to ask if someone could answer my question regarding the British GCSEs and GCEs. I know they are academic achievements (I guess tests?), but on which level? High School or University?

Thanks again for all the replies,
Marco

[Arne]

Hi Marco,

GCSE and GCE levels are high school, two different levels, diffence is what level you want to continue your education.

Good luck in the future,

Arne

[Boeing4ever]

Thanks for clearing that up for me, Arne ;)

Marco