I'm with FCA, and to say the takeover rumours are unsettling is an understatement.
However, as BB states, Summer 07 is set in stone, so the worst case is you get the type rating, 500 hours upto end of October 06, and no bond if they let you go. Not ideal granted but you have to remember that FCA have been in merger talks for most of last year (with kouni) and nothing came of that. The difference was the negotiations were all done in secret and so we were none the wiser. This time Mytravel leaked their interest in Firstchoice mainstream division (tour ops, shops and airline) to the sunday times, presumably to send signals to the city prior to their results that they are proactively addressing problems in the industry that are effecting their performance both in 06 and more significantly in 07. eg over capacity.
result - eveyone in FCA has a crap christmas worrying about what the future holds despite winning charter airline of the year and posting £50+m profits (in mainstream alone).
The feeling here and whats being reported in the business press is that FCA / Thomas Cook (the later buying the former) takeover seems to be the more likely scenario. However, the latest twist is that the Sunday Times has reported that "part of the Airline " will be sold! the shorthaul bit one presumes as that is what FC are trying to get out of in favour of specialist long haul.
So what does it all mean? who knows. You can analyze every possible scenario but its largely fruitless. Even if they do merge, will there be hull reductions? and if there are (after summer 07) then will that equate into redundancies as FCA is undercrewed on long haul presently while the summer 06 joiners do their 1 or 2 seasons on the 757 prior to going on the 767, and TC had seconded amercian FOs in the summer and german pilots from condor?
Do your course, line training, fly the line over the summer building up 500 before you know it and see how things pan out. By then you'll have a full ATPL and 500 hours on a 757, so alot stronger position than you are currently in I guess.
DH