Virgin Blue to train cadets....

[SPEEDI]

Virgin Blue to train cadet pilots




AUSTRALIA'S second largest airline Virgin Blue will start training cadet pilots within the next year, a parliamentary inquiry into air safety has been told.

Previously, the airline had hired pilots from other carriers instead of training its own.
Virgin Blue's chief executive John Borghetti said the company would not rush into setting up the scheme, preferring to take "a good 12 months to get it right".
The airline's operations executive Sean Donohue said the proposed scheme was a long-term investment for the airline.
"With our pilot turnover of less than one per cent, it is not an urgency," he told a Senate hearing in Canberra today.
"Obviously it is to make sure we have a pipeline of skilled, trained pilots for the future."
Mr Borghetti said he placed a very high degree of importance on safety and being accessible to his company's pilots.

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He told senators that he met with the chief pilots of Virgin Blue and V Australia on his first day as the airline's boss.
"The same day I sent an email to every captain in our group of airlines providing my work number, my email address and personal mobile number inviting their feedback and comments at any time," he said.
Virgin supported the immunity provisions for pilots reporting on safety matters in legislation before the Parliament.
"However, this would have to be subject to amendments that protect against the use of immunity for industrial purposes or protect against actions that are willfully reckless, negligent or non-compliant," Mr Borghetti said.



Read more: [URL]http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/virgin-blue-to-train-cadet-pilots/story-e6frfku0-1226023996638#ixzz1GvGBPvM4 (http://www.google.com.au/ig)

[Global Xpress]

One percent attrition (per year I assume), is it really that low? Being so low, you would assume they would have no trouble replacing pilots.

Does this mean also an end (or severe reduction) to direct entry recruitment?

[JustJoinedToSearch]

I drove past MFS at MB today and noticed on the sign underneath what they already had they had added;

Cadet pilot program
Accelerated pilot training program

These were in Orange (as opposed to blue for the rest of the sign) so I thought maybe Onestar but it seems this Virgin thing may be the go.

[mcgrath50]

I noticed that to JJTS. I thought either Virgin or a foreign carrier.

I doubt Oxford, surely J* wouldn't be happy with sharing them with their competitor.

[Roxy_Chick_1989]

It seems the cadet 'theme' is here to stay - pending the senate outcome of course.

It is perhaps a little unnerving for those of us with a basic CPL and looking for a job toward the lower end of GA. It would appear that if the airlines are favouring selection of zero hour candidates, the direct entry method may diminish, bottlenecking the traditional GA -> Airline transition. If we look at the tail end of the falling domino's, therein lies the bare CPL, 'overqualified' for an airline, yet unable to slide into the GA game as the longer serving pilots remain fixed.

Im guessing the senate outcome(s) will play a major part in the careers of those new to the industry like myself. :uhoh:

[ozbiggles]

Don't stress to much Roxy
Enjoy the journey you are on and take it for all its worth.
One day in your shiny big jet you might be looking back on how you got there and remembering a lot of good times.
One thing I have noticed with fellow pilots is it doesn't matter how you got there, it was one hell of an adventure!

[neville_nobody]

One day in your shiny big jet you might be looking back on how you got there and remembering a lot of good times. One thing I have noticed with fellow pilots is it doesn't matter how you got there, it was one hell of an adventure!

I think you're missing his point. If Cadet schemes start taking up all the RHS jobs in jets as well as REX, then everyon in GA is going to be fighting over a very small number of jobs in airlines, which in turn will basically leave GA 'as the road to nowhere'. GA could potentionally go back to the days of you need 5000 hours to fly a chieftan because I have 5 resumes here with guys who have over 5000 hours and noone has a job to go to. You won't even be able to get job overseas as you need jet time in airliners to apply to those jobs.

This is probably good news for the RFDS and mining companies, but I think you will find alot of small operators and flying schools just closing their doors, which could be argued what should have happened all along.

[ozbiggles]

Jeez, you try and inject a little bit of love and happiness.......

[motzartmerv]

On pprune??:}

[Xcel]

Tiger
alliance
network
airnorth
skytrans
rfds
corporate
overseas


and the fact that they can't possibly be all cadets

there are still plenty of roads leading to the same destination...

[PlaneWhisperer]

Really, I thought PPRuNe was full of love and happiness :ok:

[Alistair]

Don't worry Roxy, companies and their spin departments are already making sure they can take your experience and not pay you for it.

The term you are looking for is Prequalified Cadet.

Look up "oxymoron" in the dictionary and it will explain the term for you.

Shysters the lot of them.

[Captain Dart]

You can add Cathay Pacific and 'fast track cadet' to the shyster list.

[coobg002]

Roxy Chick I still believe that despite Cathay, then Jet* and now Virgin + all the other respective airline cadetships, there will still be airlines with direct entry as their main intake over the span of our career (or atleast until we are able to enter the airline world) and there will still be reputable companies such as Qantaslink etc who will take on people with a CPL and extra hours and qualifications (MECIR + FZN ATPL). Furthermore companies such as cathay offer advanced cadetships so if you do choose that path your cpl will come in handy anyway. There will always be something, even if moving overseas until you retire is the answer (eg a regional chinese airline etc)

[flyboy_nz]

One thing I have noticed with fellow pilots is it doesn't matter how you got there, it was one hell of an adventure

Amen to that. Been in GA only for 2 years and what an adventure it has been! Most of it is instructing, but charter is my next plan followed by low level survey and parachuting and then Airlines.

[Howard Hughes]

@Roxy Qantas take cadets with a CPL!:ok:

[SW3]

Those cadets also either are required to go out and learn some real life experience, or are put in the back as an SO.

[PlaneWhisperer]

Well Qf were thinking of doing an advanced cadet program until they suspended all programs last year, anyone reckon they'll reconsider this year?

[Howard Hughes]

or are put in the back as an SO
Is that such a bad thing? Even with the current uncertainty, still probably the pick of aviation jobs in Australia! If airlines are your thing.:ok:

[SW3]

Horses for courses! Pay good, progression slow and dont get to fly much but you're right, boils down to personal preference.

[nt.pilot]

It has always been my ultimate goal for work for virgin blue, but always heard they only take pilots who already have plenty of hours and experience.... soo for someone like me who is just PPL qualified would it be best to go for something like this and get straight into virgin blue, or is it better to still go and get my CPL and work out west/north then come back to this?? wont all these cadetships have the same problem with command hours for the cadets and then running out of captains and having no one to fill the gap because all the hours of the cadets are not in command?? dont you need a good couple of thousand of hours in command to be a captain?

[Chadzat]

For the umpteenth time, you will NOT be employed by Virgin Blue. You will be flying a Skywest aircraft painted in VB colours. Depending on what the boys and girls can negotiate your working conditions and pay will have NO correlation to what VB pilots do/get.

[Chadzat]

He announced high level negotiations with Skywest Airlines of WA to set up a cadet pilot program which would, unlike the Jetstar NZ but-working-in-Australia scheme, be based in Australia, paid in Australian dollars, and pay Australian taxes and the superannuation levy.

He being JB. Quoted from Ben Sandilands Plane Talking.

[sled_driver71]

Chadzat.

Finally someone who understands their (XR & VB) arrangement.:D There are at least a couple of threads on here were everyone gets side tracked.

ALL PILOTS WILL WORK FOR SKYWEST!:ugh:

Cadets, direct entry, contract..............

[Going Nowhere]

Expect that at QLink, you wind up staying there! :E

[nt.pilot]

so you reckon that the skywest cadetship is pretty much the same thing then??

thats a bit dissappointing. I actually called Altara, the nominated trainers for the skywest cadetship, the other week and they said there were no oppurtunities to move from skywest into vb.

anyway.... i guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.

[sled_driver71]

nt driver

as i posted previously, you will be working for skywest!

can cobham pilots move to qantas? big fat no!

[pilotdude09]

Being a caded for Skywest would be a good opportunity I would of thought.

An airline that has substantially grown and is continuing to grow and get more a/c.

From everyone I have ever spoken to, they all love working for Skywest and the pay isn't that bad either. So not all bad working for Skywest.