I concur with bracebrace! and agree that the text of PT's message is that TRSS will still exist. This is not company confidential and the company clearly wish to publicise their new requirements. I have therefore reprinted the salient points below regarding the new recruitment criteria which were listed at a recent BALPA employment conference at Heathrow:
easyJet has ramped-up its ability to assess candidates threefold. Selection is now completed either in the morning, followed by a sim in the afternoon or in the afternoon followed by a sim the next morning (the sim will remain – it’s expensive but in our view a critical part of the process at the present time).
· easyJet is in the process of ramping-up its training department by circa 40% year-on-year in order to train the volumes that are now starting to come through.
· The fleet size, route structure map and passenger stats were presented – you already know how big we are but for some this still comes as a shock!
· In 2006, we will have recruited 350 pilots and promoted well over 100 SFOs to command internally.
· In 2007, we plan to recruit 450 new pilots with continued growth across the whole of the current network and of course in our new base in Madrid. Internal commands are likely to number around 150.
· Our Recruitment Challenge will be:
o To recruit the highest calibre pilots in order to meet the demands of our rapid expansion with no compromise to safety and standards
· The effective execution of this will be managed by opening the tap up to who can apply initially but maintaining our current standards on both selection and of course training. We must not allow the standard of the product we deliver to the line to reduce. Of course having resolved the pay negotiations and the rostering agreement for Winter 06 we have made ourselves much more attractive to new comers from other airlines and in the last 6 months we have had 10 former easyJet pilots apply to return to us!
· Our revised ‘Entry Criteria’:
o Non-rated co-Pilots (TRSS): minimum of 500 hours TT and multi crew experience. Air transport company or military background (minimum medium/heavy turboprop)
o Non-rated co-Pilots (Direct Entry): minimum of 500 hours TT and multi crew experience (Medium/Heavy Jet) or Military heavy transport/large jet.
o Type-rated co-Pilots: minimum of 50 hrs on type (this allows us to tap into the pilots from airlines who allow pilots to pay for their conversion and pay for their line training by the hour).
o Direct Entry Captains (Rated and Non-Rated): minimum 3,000 factorised hours TT and at least 500 factorised hours in command of a medium to heavy commercial jet (current command)
o Fast-track Commands: As above but no current command (this would include an assessment by the TRE at the end of the sim stage of conversion. If the examiner is satisfied that the pilot is ready for command assessment then the Base Captain would complete a CPI and they would join the full assessment process whilst remaining as an SFO, if not then they wait until such time as they make the grade).
That is the party line folks - so make of it what you will. What you can say with certainty is that easyJet is an incredibly successful airline and needs new pilots very quickly. There has never been a better opportunity than now and you should go for it.
All these expansion plans suppose that the market conditions remain the same. Alas, from the traditional supporters of British Business, has arisen a real and credible threat to all of our expansion plans. The incredible success of easyJet and Ryanair is, alas, under direct threat from mainstream political parties. I am horrified by recent pronouncements from the Conservative Party who are simply desparate to destroy civil aviation in the UK. Listening to David Cameron has filled me with a sense of deep alarm. His plans to tax short haul aviation are a direct attack on companies like easyJet and Ryanair in the main, but also the smaller companies like FlyBe, Jet2 etc. The simple fact is that other countries see successful airlines who create employment as a good thing, whereas the Conservatives see the destruction of the airline industry as a top priority. The very business easyJet has built up so well is a victim of its own success - it is now seen as immoral to travel anywhere for fun or just a couple of days away. I should point out that up until recently I was a lifelong Tory - true blue in every way. I will absolutely not be voting for them in the next election as they are increasingly on another planet. These plans represent the greatest threat to civil aviation since Sep 11.