Originally Posted by
Whitemonk Returns
You apply tomorrow June 22 and are successful and are offered the first course October 22. You are two months going through ground school and simulator training, add another two months if NTR. Now you need a security pass... Have you seen the news? OK it's gone well for you and you have your training complete and pass in hand ready for line training in February, oh but there are not many flights until March/April, have a couple of weeks off. You get your FLC passed May 1st. Now you wait 6 months to put in your command application, it's November 1st 2022. That takes a month to process and now you need a three day CPC course, but it's Christmas and the next one is February 2023. You get on it and it goes well, great, Command Assessment in March, you pass, we'll done again now you go into the hold pool which is not seniority based but done by date of joining. So you are last in the pool in April. Email comes out, summer is going to be really busy we need all hands on deck, no upgrades until after the summer season. OK fair enough at least you are in the pool, top of the list starts to get courses in October, but you want to be based in Belfast, or Manchester or Birmingham? No problem, but we have a course for you in January to be based in Glasgow and we will try and get you back to your choice ASAP (and to be fair to them, they will). So now you have a choice to make. You take the command course in January and your FLC is passed in late March 2024, congratulations your based in Glasgow until March 2025. This is not a fantasy scenario, I know people in this situation who have been with the company years.
Oh, now imagine your initial course isn't in October 22 it's in April 23.
I think you have the dates mixed up a bit,
Joining OCC Course October 2022,
Final Line Check 1st May 2023,
6 months, 1st November 2023
CPC Course February 2024
Command Course January 2025
Final Line Check March 2025.
At the moment 3 years ish. Considering the last 2 years is not too bad and par for the course. I am pretty sure it will be similar in the blue yellow airline as well.
The best advice this old geezer can give to any potential FO's out there, whatever company you wish to work for is this. The best route to command is to stay with one company, sometimes life is not ideal, but chopping and changing jobs puts you down the list, regardless of the company's system.