OK, paying for their own type to get hired is not new. Southwest has been doing that for 30 years and they have no end of great candidates ready to work for a great airline.
But anyone with a PPL and a multi can buy a type rating. The Ryanair site says they
should have 500 in a Boeing to get hired in the right seat. Obviously should doesn't mean they must. And they hire captains off the street?
Is there no senority list at Ryanair?
I'll tell you one thing though that I bet is a strong draw to get people to stay ... being home every night. I talk to a lot of pilots to whom the thrill of hotels and overnights have worn off long ago. But I also bet those pilots are older. Has anyone ever seen a demographic breakdown of Ryanair pilots?
I can see it. We'll treat you like hell during your workday, but you'll be back at home base every night whether it's ...
- London-Stansted
- Dublin
- Shannon
- Cork
- Glasgow-Prestwick
- East Midlands
- Liverpool
- Bristol
- Luton
- Belfast City
- Barcelona-Girona
- Madrid
- Valencia
- Alicante
- Marseille
- Brussels-Charleroi
- Stockholm-Skavsta
- Frankfurt-Hahn
- Bremen
- Dusseldorf-Weeze
- Milan-Bergamo
- Pisa-Florence
- Rome-Ciampino
This might be harder to walk away from than we think.