I'm getting the hint that an MPL is a bit of a faux pas at the moment! The 40,000 reasons to not do one and the whole 'not being tied to an airline that might not want me in 2-3 years' is something that makes it quite appealing, it's just a question of crystal ball staring as to whether my fATPL will be wanted by any airlines in 2 years time.
Originally Posted by
Chris the Robot
You really want the airline to have some serious financial skin in the game so they have an incentive to complete your training if things change economically, Easyjet don't appear to and neither did Iberia (there's a thread about them as well). If/when the fully-funded TUI Programme re-opens, put an application in for that, also keep an eye out for the Aer Lingus programme which before the pandemic was fully-funded.
If you don't already have a Class 1 medical, think about getting one done. Some programmes have tighter lead times than others, if you already have the medical out of the way then any delays/complications shouldn't cost you a place on a training programme.
This sounds like a sensible perspective - haven't read about iberia probably because I can't apply to the EU airlines anymore as a Brit; concerning nonetheless with Iberia being part of IAG that owns BA as well, no more holding out for the BA FPP then! I did unfortunately just miss the TUI window as I was buried in studying (silly me). I am quite surprised they are doing it at the moment and wonder if they might delay/cancel due to our economy, but I haven't seen their financial reports of late so maybe the airline/its other divisions are turning a decent enough profit and it is the right time for them to fund MPLs rather than just type rate ATPLs.
After quite some delays as you mention I do now hold a UKCAA and EASA unrestricted class 1 so I have now fortunately ticked those boxes which for a while I thought were going to extinguish the dream as boy oh boy are they picky about minor things from years ago!
A fully funded MPL would be lovely; I'm however a little remiss to keep checking people in at an airport for that many more months and would quite like to 'have a direction' one way or the other soon, so to an extent would like to pick from the options I currently have rather than holding out for a fully funded programme as we're about to enter a 2 year dip so I (perhaps naively?) doubt the inception of them for a while yet, and I wonder if getting the training done during the dip to finish as we (hopefully) reach the light at the end of the tunnel is a sensible idea.
Do you reckon the chances of there being airlines hiring low hour fATPLs when I finish in a couple of years is reasonable enough? Or was that another way of hinting you think that no one will be hiring low hour fATPLs in 2 years and so I should hold out for a funded MPL and continue checking passports at 4am for as many months as it takes for a programme to open
