number – Bond Aviation Solutions are not in the business of being an employment broker / agency for pilots ( but Storm Aviation are ) and, similarly, Storm Aviation do not have TRTO accreditation and so they can’t provide type-rating training ( but Bond can ).
So if you put the two together...... you get GAS !
Now all airlines are looking to lower their costs, and therein it makes good sense to outsource where possible, and this includes the provision of pilots – and it is this niche which GAS are hoping to fill.
Yes, Bond Aviation Solutions is a company wholly owned by Astraeus and some would say "Why don't Astraeus run the training courses themselves, i.e. why the need for Bond ?"
In answer to that, I would reply "Astraeus' prime reason for being is to be a successful ‘airline’ and they are being careful to not to get distracted from that primary task”, i.e. Astraeus ( the airline ) don’t won’t to be directly involved with provision of training courses, as this would take their eye off the ball of running the airline.
Accordingly, Astraeus setup 'Bond Aviation Solutions' to market, sell and facilitate the provision of training courses & resources to airlines and private individuals.
That said, there is obviously a lot of symbiosis between the two organisations, where one is able to call upon the other for resources. E.g. when Astraeus type-rated the PPRuNe Cadets, this was done by people employed by Bond. Similarly, Bond call on Astraeus to provide aircraft and Training Captains for ‘base’ or ‘line’ training for people who require it.
Nb. In order to get a type-rating one needs to attend a Type Rated Training Organisation ( TRTO ) and one also has to fly the actual aircraft – and not many TRTO’s have ready access to their own aircraft, e.g. GECAT don’t, and neither do 'Flight-Safety Boeing' / Alteon.
In any event one still has the option to go directly to Bond and do a type-rating but, that said, Bond will still put you through an assessment process before they let you commence the type-rating course. At the end of the training, and assuming you pass, you’re then on your own to find yourself a job.
I suppose that, fundamentally, the prime difference between doing the GAS scheme, as opposed to just doing a type-rating directly with Bond, is that ( whilst Bond train you in either event ) Storm Aviation complement the training by being out in the market place arranging employment with airlines ( as that’s what Storm do best, and they are well connected with the airlines ).
It is hoped that these airlines will then take you on once you’ve got your type-rating, albeit that nothing in aviation ( or life ) is ever guaranteed ( except for death and taxes
).
Of course if GAS are going recommend people to airlines then one imagines that these people will need to be ‘top calibre’ candidates because the last thing GAS ( Bond & Storm ) need is p!ss poor performance from somebody who’ve they’ve told the airlines are meant to be ‘quality’ / 'above average'; and that’s why GAS are seemingly so choosy about who is allowed on to the GAS scheme.
Nb. Theoretically, somebody might get through a Bond pre-type rating assessment, they might then go on to pass the type-rating, but in spite of this they might not be a person who GAS would ‘highly recommend’ to an airline for employment.
I suppose I can sum it up as, to get on to the GAS scheme, people not only have to pass the assessment, as well as having the money to pay for the type-rating, they've also got to be pretty ‘sh!t hot’ as GAS ( and ergo Bond and Storm’s ) reputations are riding on the outcome of how well they do once placed with an airline.
Finally, to answer the question, it’s ‘four’.
