Hi,
I am new to these forums, but I've been researching for many months now.
I have just finished my GCSEs and I have the entire summer to look deeper into my dream career. At the moment I have firm eyes on short-haul international flights with a selection of British airlines (EasyJet, Thomas Cook, Jet2, TUI and Ryanair). I see the various licence types CPL, ATPL etc and I have looked at various training centres within the UK. Now after speaking to Pilot George, I have learnt that it is best to stick with popular training centres due to their Airline Links. With L3 I think that the training bond solution is good although I suspect only BA and EasyJet are actually committed to paying the bond back to me once employed. I also choose L3 over CAE due to the financing, L3 goes through Optimum Finance and CAE goes through Pegasus. Borrowing £96,800 and £90,000 respectively from either finance partner shows that L3 is considerably more affordable. Paying £96,800 over 25 years at 4.9% works out at £560 per month in comparison to £90,000 over 10 years (maximum duration) at 7.9%, ending up with £1,087.20 per month, almost double the amount per month. So let's say I go with L3, I have a variety of courses to choose from, personally, I would go for an integrated APTL due to the range of airline employers rather than limiting myself to a set career with BA or EasyJet. So paying £560 per month seems affordable, would it be worthwhile saving £15,000 prior to starting the course to cover the loan repayments when I'm training and the first 6-9 months after leaving training (the period of time to find my first airline job)? Once I have landed my first job then I can cover the repayments for certain, I will also have to think about transportation once I land my first job (I am planning on saving money by not getting a car whilst I am training).
So thank you for reading, I just have a few questions in mind -
- Am I eligible for student finance?
- Are my repayment forecasts correct?
- How can I prepare over the next two years for my training?
I have various spreadsheets and documents where I have accumulated a wealth of information for various courses, jobs and opportunities. I believe that I am extremely passionate about my future in the aviation industry, this is pushing me forward along with my academic ability whilst money is pulling me back.
Thank you very much for your attention