Cabair: - First Officer Direct Course

[jb2_86_uk]

Firstly, apologies if a similar thread exists elsewhere but I have done a search and couldnt find anything....

I have recently been accpeted onto the above mentioned course with Cabair College of Aviation Training in Bedford. Providing I get my class 1 medical and financial support sorted, I am on my way towards my dream job of being a commercial pilot.

I was wondering if there is anyone here who has expericned the Cabair program or who know people who have? I was rejected at stage three with CTC last year. I have found the selection processes of CTC and Cabair to be like chalk & cheese! CTC seemed a very long and drawn out process (involving several day-trips from Sheffield to Bournemouth) whereas the Cabair selection day all happened in one day.

I know CTC have the agreement with the airlines to pay off course fees for the pilot upon employment, and for this reason, I appreciate how they can be pickey about candidates. I am just almost worried about the quality of training or job prospects I can expect as student with Cabair. I keep telling myself I am sure everything is fine, if it wasnt they would have gone out of business a long time ago. I am just paranoid!

If anyone can shed any light on this matter for me it would be greatly appreciated!

John

[Groundloop]

Lot's of threads on here about Cabair. Try doing a search. It's what the moderators will tell you to do.

Also, last time I was there Cabair was at Cranfield, which is at least 10kms outside Bedford!:bored:

[chris-squire]

John - I too have done the CCAT assessment and have actually opted to go on the Airline Entry Scheme as opposed to the First Officer Direct route. But thats by the by.

Cabair are very friendly with the airlines as are OAT, FTE and CTC. This is what makes them so successful in what they do. On my assessment day Tim Sharland was conducting the final interviews as Keren was busy in a meeting with the recruitment director from BA.

Says it all.

CS :ok:

[jb2_86_uk]

Groundloop, apologies! I have since found lots more info about cabair on pprune, I think I maye have used an incorrect search function? :O

Anyway its good to hear plenty of praise for cabair!

And even better to hear theyre having meetings with the like of BA!! :D

John.

[chris-squire]

I am slightly biased as Cabair are my FTO of choice but I have done a **** lod of impartial research into the major FTO's and Cabair ticked the most boxes for me. But as many others will tell you, its a personal choice on which one suit's you the best. There are a few top notch FTO's in the UK who are in bed with the airlines and CCAT are definitely one of them!

Good luck fella!

CS :ok:

[Wannabe Mike]

Chris-squire, these said FTOs are also in bed with your money and that doesn't complain!

John, the quality of training you will receive will be good. As Chris said, they wouldn't be in bed with the airlines if they produced pilots that fly like Forrest Gump. As for job prospects, you'll be in the same boat as everyone else. Ultimately you have to do what it takes to get that first job having invested all that cash in your training, and not rely upon the FTO. I think it's natural to have doubt. You'll be fine.

WM

[chris-squire]

WM - Didn't quite understand that one. Money won't complain as it doesn't actually have the physical capacity to do so. :hmm:

When you come out of training yes it is true that you will have many others to compete against but you will give yourself the best chance by going to an FTO that is respected by the airlines. Training Integrated will put you very marginally above people such as myself who train full time structured mod with one FTO. To those of us on this route it is more important to train through a well recongnised and respected FTO I think.

When all's said and done we all do as much as we can to make ourselves as attractive as possible to the potential employers. Each of us will have slightly different views on how we go about that and what boxes whould be ticked and what one's aren't quite so important. However the most important thing is to train with an FTO that YOU are happy with. You could go to Cabair or OAT and hate it for whatever reason or you could go to an FTO that you love and enjoy which will naturally get the best out of you. i.e if all other things were equal such as sim checks and were in the interview stage....I had trained at 'X Flight College' and achieved an average of 95% passes but you walk in having trained at CCAT with 85% passes then this will naturally makes me more attractive to the employer.

Bottom line...go with the FTO that suits you best as that will be the one that yoe get the most out of!

CS :ok:

[EpsilonVaz]

chris-squire: Cabair's marketing investment obviously worked pretty damn well on you!

One word: Mug!

It's better to save the extra money you send to Cabair's integrated grubby mitts and go to a cheaper flight school for half the price, then with the extra £30k you can pay for a Type Rating.

Now THAT will put you above other cadidates, not because you had to wear a cabair uniform!

Now go wipe the brown off your nose and make a wiser training choice before you waste your money!

[Joffyh]

EpsilonVaz…

The whole integrated vs modular debate has gone on for such a long time and everyone is bored of it. If you had actually read Chris S. posts then you would see that he is going for modular training, it just happens to be at Cabair. Also Chris S. was being impartial and stated that prospective students should go to the FTO that feels right for them.

People make their decisions based on their own criteria and what they want from a FTO and the course. Stupid comments aren't going to change their mind. Also I don't really think there is a need to be so personal.

[5 RINGS]

Sure thing:

I trained with Cabair (distance learner + modular ICAO licence convertion + MCC) with the view to join one of their customer airlines right from the beginning.

I worked hard, behaved in a professionnal way, and it worked!

Just want to mention on top of that, I'm not British, and no I'm not working for Cabair.

You're all free to make your own decisions based on FACTS.

Best of luck in your careers mates.

5 Rings

[chris-squire]

EpsilonVaz - One word... Dick! :rolleyes:

Im training modular and am remaining impartial. I have my own views on the Int vs Mod debate and this aint the time or the place to bring it up again.

My point was that each person goes with what suits them best. Furthermore, the fact that HSBC will not support you unless you train at Cabair, OAT or CTC means that it isn't as simple as saving yourself a few quid by training with the cheapest FTO you can find!

Joffyh - Thanks for taking the time to actually read my post fully and take in the point I was trying to make.

CS :ok:

[EpsilonVaz]

chris-squire: your passmark comment was all I needed to read...

...what can I say? You prove the theory that there's one born every minute! Congrats to you for beating the odds!

[chris-squire]

God there really are some miserable bastards on here arent there! :ugh:

My point was that choosing an FTO because of it's name doesn't automatically get you brownie points with an airline and that choosing an FTO that suits you is the best way to succeed as it will most likey get the most out of you.

Trolls!