I was really impressed by the whole show and found it to be a very intersting and insightful day.
I managed to attend all the lectures,a long day in all. Luckily they decided to lower the temperature in the lecture hall to what felt like sub-zero for Capt John Mahon's talk,which meant all were fully awake!
I didn't manage to hear all of John Monks talk as I was one of those right at the door and spent most of my time letting people in and trying to stop the door banging.What he said has mostly been covered. The main theme was "Intergrated training". It was interesting however.
Chris Hall and the Dhl Cargo talk was a great insight into the world of cargo flying. Unfortunaly his video about DHL and their operations wasn't working. He talked about how they take on low hours pilots,often from within the company but also outside.He also mentioned the advantages of not having a plane full of passengers to annoy you but you do have to make your own tea.
The Britannia talk by Capt. Alan Cooper told his story as a self sponsored pilot making his way up through the system. It was very amusing in parts and portrayed Britannia as an excellent company to work for. Their recruitment plan for the future looks quite positive with a number of pilots needed to fill up the holding pool and also the possibility of another cadetship quite soon.
Catain Jim Newberry's talk on Atlantic Airlines was another insightful look into the world of cargo flying. He dispelled a number of myths about the industry, such as needing a separate licence to fly cargo, that its poor pay (he mentioned a FO earning in the region of £30-35K starting) and that they only fly rust buckets. They will be looking for up to 30 pilots and are running a sponsorship scheme at the moment also.
I really enjoyed Capt John Mahon's talk. Scenic Route covered the bulk of what he said above. His talk showed that you can get a lucky break and that you never know where your next job might come from.
In all honesty if I could, I would choose to have Capt Mahons career anyday rather than that of someone who joins a major airline straight out of flying school and then retires with the same company 35 years later.
As a wannebe to which integrated traing is nowhere near in my reach and most likely never will be, the last four talks showed there is always a chance as long as you have the desire and the passion to fly.
Overall it made a nice change from the often crap filled and depressing posts which people often fill these boards with.
Aerfungus